Storm Winds That Fulfill His Word: Tempests, the
Jesuits, and the Evangelization of Florida, 1566-1572... 3
by Frank Mariotti

Steps Toward the Intracoastal Waterway: The Blake
Surveys of 1843 and 1845.................................................. 27
by Joe Knetsch

The Beginning of the Episcopal Church in the Miami
A rea ....................................................................................... 41
by Edgar Legare Pennington, S.T.D.

Historical Association of Southern Florida Members...... 83

COPYRIGHT 1994
THE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA

is published annually by the Historical Association of
r es g St-ot Southern Florida. Communications should be addressed
to the Managing Editor of Tequesta, Historical Museum
of Southern Florida, 101 W. Flagler Street, Miami, Florida
33130. Telephone: (305) 375-1492. The Association does not assume responsibility
for statements of facts or opinions made by contributors.

On the Cover: Early Episcopal services were held in the Presbyterian tent that
was located east of Avenue D (Miami Ave.) south of 14th Street (SE 2nd) in
Miami. (HASF 1980-158-5)

Storm Winds That Fulfill His Word:
Tempests, the Jesuits, and the
Evangelization of Florida, 1566-1572
by Frank Mariotti

Praise the LORD from the earth, you sea monsters and all depths;
Fire and hail, snow and mist, storm winds that fulfill his word;
(Psalm 148:7-8 NAB)

To enter Florida is to enter the realm of storms. For hundreds of
years, Florida has lured migrants to its shores, inviting them to pursue
their dreams. But then there are the storms. PAnfilo de Narvaez,
Tristan de Luna y Arellano and Angel de Villafane, all sixteenth-
century would-be conquistadors, saw their visions of glory dashed
in howling winds and heaving seas. In our own century, hurricanes
in 1926 and 1928 killed thousands, administering a coup de grace to
Florida's fabulous land boom of the Roaring Twenties. Several years
later, in 1935, another hurricane sent four hundred people to their
graves, while obliterating the so-called "Eighth Wonder of the World,"
the Key West Extension of Henry M. Flagler's Florida East Coast
Railway. Most recently, in 1992, a rampaging Hurricane Andrew
made a major contribution to Florida's "State of Rage.'"
The Jesuits laboring in Florida between 1566 and 1572, the first
of their religious order to evangelize in Spanish America, also saw
their share of storms. They devoted pages of their letters to descrip-
tions of the perils that they endured on sea and land because of rain,
shoals, wind, waves, and tempests. These storm narratives give us
keen insights into the interior world of the missionaries. Through
them, we glimpse their faith, love, suffering, and dreams. Moreover,
the lengthy, detailed reports of the deprivations that they suffered as

Frank Mariotti, Jr. is the first prize winner of the 1993/94 Jay L Kislak
Foundation Prize for Student Research Paper in History or Anthropology
made possible by the foundation and coordinated by the Historical Asso-
ciation of Southern Florida. He is a doctoral student at the University of
Hawaii at Manoa and an assistant professor in the Social Science Depart-
ment at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.

4 TEQUESTA

victims of Florida's weather helped to eventually
persuade their European superiors to abandon the
Society of Jesus' apostolate along the Atlantic.
When Spain's King Philip II charged Pedro
Men6ndez de Avil6s with evangelizing, fortifying,
and colonizing La Florida (eastern North America)
in 1565, the Asturian adventurer accepted his daunt-
ing task partly because of storms. Less than two
years earlier, Don Pedro's only son Juan foolishly
ignored his father's warning not to sail from Cuba
during hurricane season. A September tempest
counted Juan Menendez as one of its victims. Still,
there was a chance that he would be found amongst
an estimated 250 Spanish castaways held in bond-
age by Florida's Calusa Indians and their allies. These
shipwrecked Spaniards would have to be rescued
and the Florida coast secured for future storm-rav-
aged mariners. Pedro Mendndez, now the
adelantado of La Florida, enlisted the Society of
Jesus to preach the gospel in his territories. Its mis-
sion would end in 1572, after warriors in the Chesa-
peake Bay region killed eight missionaries.2
In his book, Contact with God, the modem
Jesuit retreat master Anthony de Mello wrote:
If in our lives we never or hardly ever experience
God's miraculous interventions, it is either because
we are not living dangerously enough or because
our faith has grown dim and we hardly expect any
miracles to occur. How important it is that there be
miracles in our lives if we are to preserve a keen consciousness
of God's presence and power.... For a miracle to occur in my
life it is enough for me to have the deep conviction that it was
a direct intervention of God on my behalf.
The Florida missionaries, living in a century imbued with a "fer-
vent religious spirit," expressed piety in their letters with "unabashed
freedom."4 They described miracles everywhere, for they lived dan-
gerously, possessed strong faith, and believed that God directly inter-
vened in their lives.

The Evangelization of Florida 5

In the Old Testament, Yahweh had used the sea to rescue the
Israelites from Pharaoh's chariots. He spoke to Job from a whirl-
wind, revealing his providence by asking, "Who decreed the bound-
aries of the seas when they gushed from the depths?" Psalm 107
tells of seafarers who:
Observe the power of God in action. He calls to the storm winds,
the waves rise high. Their ships are tossed to the heavens and
sink to the depths; the sailors cringe in terror. They reel and
stagger like drunkards and are at their wit's end. Then they cry
to the Lord in their trouble, and he saves them. He calms the
storm and stills the waves. What a blessing is that stillness, as
he brings them safely into harbor.
The Book of Jonah also dramatically illustrates the Creator's control
over the oceans when he sends a storm and a whale to chastise a
reluctant missionary.5
Jesus revealed his divinity to the apostles by calming a turbu-
lent Sea of Galilee. St. Paul washed ashore on the island of Malta,
later declaring: "Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I was in the
ocean all night and the whole next day."6 As in the Old Testament,
God used the terror of churning waters to display his power and
mercy. After passing through the frightening ordeal of ocean gales,
the Almighty's servants emerged holier, wiser, and closer to him.
Irving A, Leonard, in Books of the Brave, traces the influence
of romances of chivalry upon the early Spanish conquistadors. The
Jesuits, spiritual conquistadors by their own definition and self
described as "raised in studies," valued books highly. In fact, Pedro
Men6ndez purchased nearly one hundred ducats' worth for their use
in Florida. Their "Books of the Brave" were the Scriptures, as well
as the letters of their confrere, Francis Xavier, who had sailed to the
Far East to convert the heathen in 1541. Members of the order were
weaned on the carefully-edited writings of Xavier. The Florida mis-
sionaries referred often to the Bible and sometimes to Xavier when
describing their own experiences.7 Like the worldly conquerors of
the Indies, they found themselves acting out dreams that for years
had fired their imaginations. While waves crashed about them, and
winds pierced them like arrows, the Jesuits thought of Job, Jonah, St.
Peter, St. Paul, Xavier, and Jesus. They felt God's intervention in
their lives. They saw miracles in the midst of storms.

6 TEQUESTA

Sixteenth-century voyagers braving the wide Atlantic were
acutely aware of their mortality. One Florida missionary, Father
Gonzalo de Alamo, commented upon the spirituality displayed by
passengers sailing with the Indies fleets. Those arriving from Spain
rejoiced to have safely reached Havana, Cuba. Outbound travelers
anxiously sought Jesuit confessors, knowing the perils that awaited
them. Monotony, thirst, unvaried meals, nausea, heat, cramped quar-
ters, cockroaches in swarms, rats, pirates, agonizing calms, and storms
tormented those risking ocean crossings.8 The fleets were placing
themselves in God's hands, trusting that his love would lead them to
their destinations.
As Father Pedro Martinez, Father Juan Rogel, and Brother
Francisco de Villareal awaited the departure of the New Spain fleet
at the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda in the summer of 1566, they
enjoyed numerous opportunities for exercising their respective minis-
tries. Contrary weather was detaining the Spanish ships, so anxious
sailors repaired to the sacraments with great fervor. The demand for
confession and communion was so pressing that all could not be
accommodated. Consequently, Rogel recommended that Jesuits visit
Sanlucar each time that the fleets gathered there so that they might
spend fifteen to twenty days carrying out spiritual works of mercy.9
In his inscrutable way, God had used the winds to reap a rich harvest
of souls.
The fleet's lengthy delay also allowed the Jesuits to devote
themselves to some key programs of the Catholic Reformation. In
Spain of the 1500s, church authorities conducted a vigorous cam-
paign against a widespread ignorance of the tenets of Catholicism.
The Jesuits were particularly active in religious education. They were
highly-trained clergy reputed to be learned preachers and innovative
teachers. Thus, it is not surprising to find Father Martinez enthusias-
tically offering instruction in Christian doctrine to rapt audiences of
mariners who were facing the open Atlantic. In the afternoon, on all
of the ships, the crews sang the doctrine, a practice instituted by
Martinez.to
The Spanish church also targeted blasphemy as an abuse that
merited serious attention. Most offenders, upset at God for not grant-
ing their petitions, would utter oaths in "anger or haste." For example,
when a gambler's cards started turning bad, he might challenge the
Lord's might by exclaiming, "God doesn't have power if ... (he does
not turn things around)." Martinez and his companions convinced the

The Evangelization of Florida 7

fleet's captains to assist them in their war against oaths. Offenders
were punished by forfeiting food or drinking rations, as well as by
paying fines. The Jesuit-led battle turned out to be so successful that
one high official commented that in comparison to other fleets, all
acts on this one were holy."
Most fittingly, on Friday, June 28, 1566, the eve of the Feast
of Saints Peter and Paul, the Lord, in the words of Rogel, freed the
fleet from its twin afflictions of poor weather and enemy raiders.
Suddenly, God sent an east wind that gradually grew stronger so that
the ships at last could depart. Then he sent a breeze so strong and
seas so rough that the vessels were quickly driven far away from the
Iberian coast, out of range of Turkish galleys. Prayers of thanksgiv-
ing were offered and a Te Deum sung."2 God's first miracle, on the
first Jesuit expedition to Spanish America, was a storm.
After stopping in the Canary Islands and navigating to the
Caribbean isle of Montserrat, the vessel carrying the Jesuits sepa-
rated from the fleet, and sailed between Puerto Rico and the Virgin
Islands bound for Florida. Its specific destination was Santa Elena,
modern Parris Island, South Carolina. Rather ominously, the weather
began to turn "not so fair," The missionaries' troubles multiplied
when, on August 28, they reached the peninsula's coast. Neither the
pilot nor the crew had ever been along these shores. Moreover, the
Jesuits were traveling on an urca, a large, slow, flat-bottomed storeship
upon which winds and shoals could wreak havoc. To make matters
worse, it was hurricane season.13
Now God, according to Rogel, "began to visit us with afflic-
tions and signs, giving us a small part of his cross." On September
3, a hurricane hammered the Jesuits, who proceeded to hear the
confessions of all who could understand Castilian. Many of the sail-
ors spoke only Flemish. Powerful surges crashed onto the ship as it
rocked for twelve hours in a "storm from which few escape." The
sails broke, and one of the urca's two launches filled with water and
had to be thrown overboard, lest it damage the rudder. At noon on
September 4, the weather cleared."4
It took two days for the urca to regain the sight of land. The
pilot thought that a large bay that he spotted was near Santa Elena,
so he moved closer to shore. That night, another storm struck, which
carried the ship so far out to sea that it required four days to return
to the coast. At this point, the crew was thirsty and hungry. They had
requested water when they left the main fleet, but had received

8 TEQUESTA

none. With great difficulty, the clumsy vessel slowly drew near enough
to land so that its remaining launch could be despatched to look for
drinking water.15
Father Martinez led the shore party that consisted of two Span-
iards and six Flemings. As dusk approached, Martinez and company
were nowhere in sight. The urca fired a cannon to signal that it was
getting late. When this salvo received no response, the pilot, sensing
yet another storm, moved away from the coast to avoid running
aground. When the anticipated hurricane struck, it blew the ship far
to the south. The sailors feared a wreck upon a notorious stretch of
beach that was swarming with hostile Indians. Father Rogel busily
heard confessions, although he lamented that with no other priest
aboard, he
could not
comfort him-
self with the
sacrament.
Just when all
seemed lost,
however, the
sea calmed
and abundant
rain quenched the mariners' thirst. When the pilot stubbornly opted to
continue his search for Santa Elena, the battered crew almost mutinied.'6
To Rogel's relief, the skipper heeded his men, setting a course
for Santo Domingo on September 28. Unfortunately, poor weather
prevented them from reaching their destination. Instead, they made
the port of Monte Christi, on Hispaniola's north coast, arriving on
October 24. After four months at sea, the crew disembarked. Rogel
commented that the Lord twice freed them from "the sight of death"
by calming a storm and by sending a strong wind that blew the urca
out of the middle of some treacherous shoals.17
Ironically, on September 14, Pedro Men6ndez spotted the urca
about two leagues off St. Augustine. Men6ndez realized that the pilot
did not recognize the port, so he attempted to send a launch to the
lost ship. Unfortunately, a contrary wind, rough seas, and the incom-
ing tide, combined with a storm, prevented contact with the helpless
vessel. Twenty days later, a small boat was found anchored at the
mouth of the St. Johns River near the fort of San Mateo. Six Flemings
and a Spaniard recounted how the previous day, a league away,

The Evangelization of Florida 9

A priest being killed by Indians. (HASFx-297-x)

Indians killed Father Martinez and three other men. A tempest had
prevented the shore party from returning to the urea, so the stranded
men wandered through the territories of friendly tribes for about two
weeks, until meeting with catastrophe when they were within reach
of the fort.18 In effect, an untimely storm had resulted in the death
of the leader of the first Jesuit expedition to Florida.
The missionaries departed from Hispaniola on November 25,
bound for Havana. Along the way, their urea was becalmed and cast
into the shallow waters surrounding a group of keys. To avoid run-
ning aground, the pilot used three anchors in succession, all of which,
even the best one, were torn to pieces by sharp coral. A storm raged
for four or five days. To make it easier for the remaining anchor to
hold, two of the urca's masts were cut and thrown overboard. When
the weather cleared, the crippled vessel attempted to enter deep
water. As the anchor was lifted, the ship struck bottom, but no
damage was done. Slowly, the urea moved toward Havana. Not far
from the Cuban port, while coasting along after sunset, Rogel's ship
struck some rocks, which tore two gaping holes below the water line.
The pilot's only hope was to try to run the urca aground so that the
crew could attempt to swim to safety. Rogel and Villareal, however,
could not swim. Sailors succeeded in plugging the leaks, and every-
body took turns manning the vessel's three pumps. Many distress
signals were fired, which brought a rescue ship from Havana with an

10 TEQUESTA

anchor and a large group of black slaves to work the pumps for the
exhausted crewmen. Later, to the great distress of the weary mari-
ners, a contrary wind would not let them approach Havana. Launches
had to be sent to transfer the missionaries to shore shortly after
midnight, on December 10. They had been at sea for sixteen long
days.20
In Cuba, Rogel saw scores of Spaniards and thousands of Af-
ricans who required serious spiritual succor. He and Villareal also
met eighteen Indians from Carlos (modem Mound Key in Estero
Bay, southwestern Florida) and Tequesta (present-day Miami). As at
Sanlucar, natural catastrophes revealed fertile fields for the Society
of Jesus to plant the gospel. Visiting Florida soldiers lifted Rogel's
spirits even higher, for they reported that the Lord had miraculously
manifested himself there through a rainstorm. It seems that Pedro
Men6ndez had visited a chief whose corn crop was on the verge of
ruin because of a drought. The chief told him that since the Christian
God was so powerful, Men6ndez should ask him for rain. The Asturian
subsequently knelt before a cross, prayed, and a half hour later, it
poured, much to the chief's edification.2'
Rogel's long letter is important, for it is the first Jesuit account
of the Florida mission. Storms and the perils of ocean travel are
featured prominently. For much of their initial time in the New World,
Rogel and Villareal were either suffering from the sea or from "fe-
vers." "Treacherous" natives had slain their leader, Pedro Martinez.
Yet, Rogel concluded, God had been merciful, delivering them from
death while leading them to discover a tremendous number of Afri-
cans, Europeans, and Indians in need of salvation. Father Rogel saw
storms as God's hand guiding the Society of Jesus to Florida.
The fledgling Jesuit undertaking had incurred a maiming blow
when it lost its first superior, the "soul and support" of the Florida
enterprise. The "crushing loss" of Pedro Martinez, a "born leader of
men," thrust Rogel, a devoted and saintly man who nevertheless did
not possess natural leadership qualities, into an unforeseen role. The
Adelantado deeply grieved the passing of Martinez, "in whom he
was envisioning a Francis Xavier of the West." Furthermore, his
death ignited a storm of controversy in Jesuit Europe that turned
several influential superiors against the mission. A combination of
masterful public relations by Men6ndez, Rogel's optimistic conclu-
sions, and cautious support by Father General Francis Borgia in Rome,
managed to win back the support of the Spanish hierarchy. Conse-

The Evangelization of Florida 11

quently, on March 13, 1568, a second Jesuit expedition to Florida
departed from Seville for Sanlucar. This "heavy reinforcement" of
the Society's previous trio consisted of three priests, three brothers,
and eight young aspirants to membership in the order. The group's
superior and new mission leader was Father Juan Baptista de Segura.22
Meanwhile, back in Florida, storms and swarms made Rogel's
life at Carlos and Villareal's at Tequesta miserable. A political con-
troversy between rivals to the Calusa chieftainship embroiled the
Spaniards in turmoil that eventually would end in the deaths of nu-
merous Indians and the abandonment of the Jesuit mission on Mound
Key. To make matters worse, rainstorms ruined the Spanish provi-
sions. Despite Estero Bay's plentiful seafood, a Castilian's state of
mind in the absence of bread, olive oil, and wine (the basic elements
of a "civilized" diet) might cause him to consider himself "starving,"
which would aggravate an already tense situation. Likewise, in Te-
questa, where the mosquitoes were so bad that the soldiers could not
sleep, constant fatigue sharpened the pain of isolation and culture
shock. Rogel resorted to storm imagery to express his frustrations:
"Great have been the whirlwinds that the devil has raised and raises
every day in these Indians to push them away so that the law of God
is not preached to them."23 His optimism was quickly turning to
pessimism. He now saw Satan in Florida's storms.
Antonio Sedeno, a priest sailing on the second Jesuit expedition,
left a description of his voyage to Florida that mirrors Rogel's first
letter. The missionaries were delayed at Sanlucar for a month, so
they preached and taught Christian doctrine by singing it in proces-
sions through the town's streets. On the Saturday before Palm Sun-
day, they were able to sail. The Jesuits made sure that everyone on
their ship, and on the one accompanying it, confessed and received
communion A week later, they safely disembarked in the Canary
Islands. Sedeno felt that the fair weather that they enjoyed en route
was "a great mercy of the Lord," for the seas were reputed to be
dangerous off the African coast. Notwithstanding the smooth sailing,
the Jesuit landlubbers arrived "badly treated by the sea." Three days
of island hospitality, however, refreshed them, and they were soon
on their way to the New World. For twenty days the missionaries
were becalmed, but they believed that this was only God saving them
from French Protestant corsairs. On board their vessel, they preached
and instructed the sailors. Each time a mariner swore, he immedi-
ately would make a cross on the deck and kiss it. As a result Sedeno

12 TEQUESTA

reported, "Our Lord gave us afterward such good weather that we
succeeded in sighting land within fifteen days."24
Now they were entering the realm of storms. Because their pilot
was unsure of the identity of a distant Caribbean island, and it being
night, the Jesuits' ship entered a shallow bay and almost foundered.
At the last moment, the wind that was driving them to their destruc-
tion calmed and was replaced with a "land breeze by which we were
departed at a distance." Once the missionaries were safely in deep
water, Sedeno wrote "the Lord then returned to us the wind that we
first had," All were amazed at their deliverance, especially since
cannibals were thought to inhabit the isle. A Te Deum was sung in
thanksgiving, with Father Segura using the occasion to admonish the
passengers to cultivate a greater fear of the Lord.25
During the next four days, the Jesuits traveled "among very
beautiful islands" before reaching Puerto Rico, "an island of the
King, very beautiful and rich, although very poor in what matters for
going to heaven." After a brief rest, the ship made for Florida. Upon
leaving port, however, it almost wrecked because the wind died at
the harbor's narrow entrance. As the waves pushed them toward
some rocks, the crew began to sing litanies and pray. They believed
that "The Lord freed us, giving us a wind to depart from such
affliction." As well as from a storm that "all feared was a hurricane,
which usually casts the ships to the bottom, almost regularly, no
matter how strong they are." Father Sedeno reflected on the fact
that the Lord always chose to comfort them on Saturday, the day
dedicated to "His Most Holy Mother":
Because on Saturday we left Sanlucar, Saturday we reached
the Canaries, Saturday we sighted land and we were freed from
that danger, Saturday we stopped at Puerto Rico and Saturday
we reached Florida, so that we might understand that all the
graces and mercies are to come through Mary and we might
be very dedicated to her.26
By June 21 the second expedition found itself in St. Augustine.
Sedeno felt fortunate. The men were seasick, but they had suffered
relatively little: "everything was very slight from what they tell me
usually occurs in these waters." Bartholomew Men6ndez, the
Adelantado's brother, though very hospitable, bluntly informed them
of Florida's hardships. Still, the Jesuits had cause for optimism. They
soon met a friendly, well-disposed native leader. Father Rogel, who

The Evangelization of Florida 13

had abandoned Mound Key, arrived from Guale (coastal Georgia)
with a very positive opinion of the Indians living there. Segura de-
cided that the priests should journey to Havana to establish a college
for the education of chiefs' sons and to discuss an evangelization
strategy for Florida.27
On the way to Cuba, the Jesuits had to enter the Bahama Chan-
nel, "which are some strong sea currents that, if the wind calms, is
dangerous." Ships would often be wrecked upon hostile shores "where
they might perish at the hands of those barbarous heathen." Unfor-
tunately, the winds died just as the missionaries were sailing through
the channel. The frustrated pilot, fearing ruin, "engaged in the worst
evil that he could take":
In place of calling out to God, blaspheming God and saying
words very much cursing His Divine Majesty and His Provi-
dence; among other words he said that the cause of God not
giving us good weather, was because we were serving Him and
we were Christians, that if we were heretics or Moors, that God
would give us everything good.
To counter this scandalous talk, which ran square against the
Jesuit campaign against oaths, the priests prayed for good weather,
with the result that "His Majesty gave it to us instantly so good that
with incredible speed and brevity we reached the port of Havana."
The other ship sailing with the Jesuits received no such favor. At a
later date, when the blasphemous pilot was plying the very same
route, accompanied by a ship carrying Father Segura, a storm struck.
Segura's vessel weathered the gale. The pilot's went to the bottom
of the sea. Storms had portended a very successful fate for the sec-
ond expedition.
Incredibly, this same voyage from St. Augustine to Havana
featured yet another seemingly miraculous event. A boy on board
began to move toward the side of the Jesuits' ship on a calm, clear
night, as the vessel sailed along rapidly before the wind. It being
midnight, most were asleep. One of the missionaries spotted the lad,
and realizing that he was sleepwalking, quickly grabbed him. It turned
out that the youngster had been dreaming that his shoes had fallen
into the ocean and he was preparing to jump overboard to retrieve
them. This boy eventually "came to be a very good religious of our
Company, and he died and lived happily in it."29

14 TEQUESTA

The writers of the above accounts, Rogel, Sedeno, and Brother
Juan de la Carrera, believed that God had worked miracles for them
throughout their arduous journeys to Florida. The storms that he sent
were to test their faith, and increase their need for him in their lives.
By suffering at sea, their spiritual strength would reach the level that
was necessary to bring the heathen to the light of the gospel. Their
prayers and devotions always had delivered them from danger. Even
Pedro Martfnez's death could be seen as a sign of God's favor,
because the Church's great foundations traditionally arose upon lands
irrigated with the blood of martyrs. Rogel and Villareal, whose spirits
had been sapped by failure at Mound Key and Tequesta,
no\v took hean. Their confreres were rein-
forcing them, and the storms were once
Sagaim bnging heavenly grace instead
of demons.
'As the evangelization
-, of Florida continued, so
Sdid the storms. Rogel's
S d""' attempt at a roundabout
voyage to Mound Key via
-..- '' -+' - Tequesta and the Florida Keys
S-- from Havana on September 22,
-.-- 1568, was foiled by inclement
A' weather. When he opted to
/' proceed directly to Estero Bay,
the usual two-day trip turned
into a nineteen-day nightmare.
At the entrance to the bay, one ship almost met its end on the bar.
A skillful Pedro Men6ndez Marques, the Adelantado's nephew, saved
the vessel.30
On December 4, a party of missionaries left Matanzas, Cuba,
reaching Tequesta in three days. When they attempted to proceed to
St. Augustine:
A north wind so strong hit us, that we got lost from each other,
and we do not know if Pedro de la Sierra has been wrecked;
because we had a stormy night that, although our frigate was
large, the sea was entering us from stem to stem.

This weather lasted three days for us.

The Evangelization of Florida 15

Sedeno saw God's wis-
dom in this setback, for the -
gale forced the Jesuits to re-
turn to Tequesta, where a
peace treaty was concluded
with the Indians. The mission-
aries, therefore, left a brother -
and two young catechists to -
carry on the evangelization
process."1 A storm had led to
a wonderful reopening of
doors among a people who .
had previously closed their
hearts to the gospel.
Brother Juan de la -
Carrera, writing in his old age,
recalled yet another example
of God's mercy in a storm.
While the missionaries were sailing on a ship with no deck among
many islands, a fierce hurricane struck them. Thunder, lightning, rain,
and furious winds rocked their exposed vessel. Carrera saw "a large
rod .. carried from one place to another, that with human industry
it appeared it could not be moved." In addition, "trees of incredible
size" were uprooted. The Jesuits' ship ran aground on an uninhabited
island. After a few days, the ship that previously seemed so useless
became more seaworthy than before, so that the missionaries were
able to safely reach port. The hurricane was the most violent in
anyone's memory. It deforested islands so that they looked as if fire
from heaven had scorched them. The buildings of one town disap-
peared beneath the sea. Brother Carrera related this tale as an
example of the many dangers from which the "powerful hand of God
freed us . so that one may see the care that He has for attending
to those who occupy themselves in His service, so that by it His
creatures may bless Him."32
In the ensuing months, the Florida mission began to disintegrate.
Internal dissension hampered the Jesuit evangelization effort. Segura
wrote Father General Borgia to have him advise the Spanish provincials
to send only healthy and emotionally mature men, because Florida
was a harsh land. Later, to his horror, Borgia, a future saint, would
discover that one superior actually forced a troublesome brother to

16 TEQUESTA

"volunteer" to go to Florida, The Father General ordered that a
suitably heavy penance be assigned to those responsible for this
outrage. To make matters worse, the missionaries quarreled with
Men6ndez. Soldiers set bad examples for the Indians, taking their
women and food when it suited them. Supplies ran low. Illnesses
struck. The natives grew weary of the Spaniards and their priests.
Some told the Jesuits to go away. Others scattered into the wilder-
ness. Brother Diego Agustin Baez, a master linguist, unexpectedly
died of fever. By mid-June of 1569, South Florida had been aban-
doned. Afterward, things went so poorly in Guale and Santa Elena
that between May and July of 1570, these two posts were also de-
serted.33
Segura, unlike Sedeno and Rogel, who came to the conclusion
that cultural clashes were the major reasons for their scant success,
attributed his woes to the poor example of the Spanish military. He
consequently decided to follow his idol, Francis Xavier, who, seeking
a mission field free from European, Jewish, and Moslem influences,
had made his way from Portuguese Goa to Japan. Afterward, Xavier
saw China as the key to the conversion of the whole East. There he
hoped to find an uncorrupted land in which he could preach the
gospel in peace. The head of the Florida Jesuits planned to sail to
Ajacan, on modern Chesapeake Bay, which was rumored to be
located near China. He would take as his guide a converted native
of that region, Don Luis. No escort of troops would accompany him.
Also, he handpicked his companions, who were either newcomers to
Florida on a
third expedi- y on
tion that had b th I
left Spain in -s- t
February -I---
1570, or young
catechists. On ARIA
August 5,
1570, Segura
sailed from
Santa Elena,
reaching Chesapeake Bay on September 10.34
By February 1571, the entire party, except for a young boy, had
been slain by the Indians. Don Luis had apostasized. The Jesuits
remaining behind suspected potential trouble when they received

The Evangelization of Florida 17

Segura's farewell letter from Ajacan. They instantly organized a
relief expedition that witnessed the ghastly sight of natives clad in
cassocks parading along a beach. When the Spaniards drew nearer
to investigate, canoes attacked their ship. They luckily managed to
capture some warriors from whom they surmised that only young
Alonso de Olmos remained alive.35
Now that all seemed lost, the Jesuit sea narratives reflected a
different perspective. On one occasion, Men6ndez brought a disease
with him when his fleet docked in Havana. Sedeno complained that
the "whole burden fell on us for since the sickness was contagious,
few were willing to hear their confessions." Ten days later, the fleet
returned to Florida, with Father Sedeno and Brother Villareal aboard.
At Santa Elena the epidemic spread, striking down the Jesuits. The
brother soon recovered, but the priest remained ill for two months
with fever. Still, he found himself forced to hear confessions "at all
hours." Then, the fort's storehouse caught fire, "destroying many
casks of wine which was the only gratification the poor people had,
and all our food, gunpowder, etc., were burned as we stood help-
lessly by."36
Sedeno's illness was worsening, so he opted to accompany
Men6ndez to Havana "in a very small open boat." Along the way,
the passengers "suffered extremely from the cold and rain as well as
from hunger for our rations were reduced to a bit of roasted corn-
meal, only two spoonfuls meal." At St. Augustine, they had the good
fortune of running into Brother Carrera and a ship loaded with sup-
plies to be used in the unlikely event that Segura was still alive at
Ajacan. A few days earlier, St. Augustine had witnessed its own
catastrophe: "the sea had risen because of the wind, flooding the
store houses and dwellings," forcing the inhabitants to sustain them-
selves "on herbs and roots." Carrera's provisions, in the words of
Sedeno, "helped us all, for we could not make the journey to Jacan,
it being mid-winter, and had we gone would have perished due to the
terrible north winds that sweep that coast and prevent dwelling or
landing there."37
On December 12, 1571, Sedeno and Men6ndez continued on to
Havana. The adelantado and the pilot decided to save time by
passing "through the very narrow channel between the mainland and
the shoals off Cape Canaveral, a place where many ships had been
wrecked." The passengers were a bit concerned when the wind
began to blow harder, but since Men6ndez and the pilot were familiar

18 TEQUESTA

with those waters, they remained calm. Then the unexpected hap-
pened:
It seems that Our Lord in His hidden judgments permitted that
the pilot should be so blind that intending to avoid the shoals,
though under the direction of the Governor and with a fair stem
wind, he piled the ship upon the shore where it went to pieces.
With great difficulty we saved the provisions, the food, the stock
and all the passengers. Drenched and cold we spent that night
on guard for the Indians on that coast are fierce and a short
while ago killed twenty-six Christians and captured three women
and two children from a ship which was wrecked there.38
The castaways were in especially bad shape because they had
few weapons and even fewer people who knew how to operate
them. Men6ndez had placed all of the soldiers in another ship as a
"convoy," but it was nowhere to be seen. The Adelantado, even
though he was "a brave captain," found himself "irresolute, and with
reason." Sedeno's quick thinking rallied the dejected Spaniards, how-
ever, when he suggested that they build a fort in order to stave off
an Indian attack. His strategy worked. When the natives saw the
Spanish defenses, they decided to devote themselves to looting rather
than killing. The party immediately began to walk to St. Augustine.
Along the way, they had to entrust themselves to the hospitality of
several different groups of Indians whose underlying motives for
assisting them were always suspect. At one point, native guides
offered to transport the Spaniards in canoes across a "very wide
deep bay." Once in the middle of the bay, their guides "did their best
to drown us,"
They broached the canoe to the waves so as to drown us, or at
least to wet all our supplies and weapons, so that we would be
forced to leave them behind. One after another the waves
washed into the canoe almost swamping them and all the time
we could not move, seated in water and thinking only of pre-
paring for death as we despaired of life.39
As had happened again and again, however. Sedeno reported
that, "it seems the sea was calmed by a relic and an Agnus Dei which
Brother Carrera trailed through the water." The Indians then paddled
the Jesuits ashore. All of the Spaniards then continued their journey.
While resting at a grove of palms, Sedeno wrote that "God visited us
with two or three heavy showers as a crown to our other trials, all

The Evangelization of Florida 19

praise to His Divine Majesty." Weak, wet, hun-
gry, cold, and barefoot, the party trudged onward.
Believing that the Lord was giving them "many an
opportunity to meditate on Christ's Passion and
the sufferings He endured for our sins." Near St.
Augustine, a friendly Indian swam across a sand-
bar to give assistance to the exhausted castaways,
who waited three days for succor, "subsisting on
herbs and shell-fish during which a wind and rain
storm arose renewing our hardships unsheltered
as we were in an open field." The long-awaited
rescue ship disappointingly brought only some "rot-
ting corn" and a "small boat" upon which the party
embarked. En route, another storm arose and the
Jesuits became lost. Finally, at dawn, they reached
St. Augustine.40
A ship full of grain soon arrived from New
Spain, so Father Sedeno and Brother Carrera de-
cided to sail with Men6ndez on a relief mission to
Santa Elena. When the small settlement was spot-
ted, the Adelantado wished to make quick contact
with the town by dispatching a shore party. Feel-
ing that the valiant Sedeno's presence would pro-
vide moral support, Mendndez asked him to dis-
embark with the pilot in a small boat. Since the
sea was calm and the moon shone, both Sedeno and Carrera agreed
to go. No sooner had they left the ship "than the wind rose and the
waves increased so that the pilot regretted having gone." The wind
and the current started driving the Jesuits out to sea. The launch cast
its "light anchor" and the "wind increased and lifted up mountainous
waves which time and again broke over our boat drenching us all."
As the sea raged, the missionaries bailed water. Sedeno called it "the
most fearful night I ever spent." He passed it "imploring God to have
mercy on us all and forgive our sins." At the break of day, "the gale
and enormous waves" still prevented their rescue. When the mother
ship's "cable broke," it was "forced to come to us and so rescued
us drenched and frozen." They stopped at Santa Elena for a month,
suffering from the cold weather. On the eve of their departure for
Havana, Sedeno nervously wrote that: "We think our trials are not
over for we are going in another small open boat." Then he added:

20 TEQUESTA

Rather we hope God will grant us even greater sufferings for I
assure Your Reverence ... that those who bear them for Him
patiently and joyously learn that truly His yoke is sweet and
His burden light, that He is with them in their tribulation and
will save those hoping in him.41
Sedeno's harrowing adventure, in addition to the other discour-
aging accounts from Florida, certainly moved the Jesuit hierarchy to
abandon the mission in favor of New Spain in 1572. Before his death
trip to Ajacan, Segura, while admitting that Florida offered numerous
occasions for sharing in Christ's passion, still maintained that the
Jesuit presence there violated the order's Institutes. They were mak-
ing a pitifully low number of converts, only a few adults and children
baptized at the point of death. To comply with their organizational
mission, they were supposed to labor for the greater glory of God.
This suggested a post like China, where a bountiful harvest of souls
could be gathered.42
The Jesuit hierarchy soon came around to Segura's point of
view. The Florida enterprise was bearing little fruit. The missionaries
lived hard lives scattered among barbarous natives. They existed on
poor rations and had suffered death, stomach ailments and fevers.
The fact that the men were rather bookish by inclination made the
conditions in Florida seem even more dangerous and deplorable.
According to Christ's command, they believed that when a people
refused to listen to the gospel message, missionaries were justified in
shaking the dust of their villages from their feet. Moreover, the In-
stitutes of the Society of Jesus did state that the order was to minister
for the greater glory of God and the greatest good of their neighbor.
They hardly could achieve these ends in Florida.43
Whereas the Jesuit leadership in Europe had previously coun-
seled patience, it was now admitting that Florida was indeed a sterile
vineyard. Recent scholarship attests to the wisdom of Francis Borgia's
command to shake the dust of Florida from the Society's feet. Fol-
lowing work by James Axtell, John H. Hann in Missions to the
Calusa reminds his readers that the Jesuit mission in Florida from
1566-1572 did not exactly "fail":
A more balanced assessment, however, might note that from
Calusa territory to Guale and Santa Elena the Jesuits dealt with
natives whose confidence in their own value systems and
Weltanschauung had not been sufficiently shaken to make

The Evangelization of Florida 21

them susceptible to the European Christian message.... Con-
sequently a more just assessment of the Jesuit effort in Florida
is that it was made before the time was right and in the case of
the Calusa, to people for whom the time would never be right."
What then do the Jesuit storm narratives tell us about the Florida
mission? They certainly help us to understand the motivations of the
missionaries. They also demonstrate their attitude toward suffering
and their deep faith in God's mercy. Furthermore, the letters reveal
subtle shifts in the Jesuits' view of their surroundings; from an op-
timism that things would turn out well in Florida to a discouraged call
for the abandonment of their apostolic undertaking in favor of more
fertile fields. Reports of agonizing sea voyages supplied European
superiors with important data for decision making and resource allo-
cation. In addition, the storm letters help us to comprehend Alfred W.
Crosby's assertion that man is "a biological entity before he is a
Roman Catholic or a capitalist or anything else." William Cronon
adds that "natural ecosystems . provide the context" for all human
institutions. Storms are a fact of life in Florida. Therefore, no history
of human endeavors there can legitimately ignore this aspect of Florida's
natural surroundings. Tempests tormented the missionaries at every
turn, shaping their attitudes toward their new environment and its
potential as a mission field. They used storms to help them to discern
God's will for the Society of Jesus in Spanish North America. At
first he seemed to be guiding them to Florida. With the passage of
time, it became clear to the Jesuits that he actually was telling them
to move on to New Spain. Finally, the storm narratives help us to see
the Jesuits as they saw themselves. At a time when Spanish colo-
nizers are under fire from a variety of interest groups, these writings
add a very human dimension to quincentenary-related debates con-
cerning the conversion of native peoples in the wake of Christopher
Columbus.45
To those living in our present age, Sixteenth-Century Europe-
ans, particularly Jesuit missionaries, represent the Other, as do the
Florida natives who they were attempting to convert. The Twentieth-
Century Jesuit spiritual director, Father Anthony de Mello, writing for
an audience composed primarily of Catholic clergy, demonstrates
how different we are:
Today we seem to be losing this sense of God's direct inter-
vention in our lives. The Jews in the Bible had a tremendous

22 TEQUESTA

sense for this.... All their attention was focused on the Primary
Cause, on God. They seem to have just overlooked secondary
causes.... With us it is just the opposite....We have become so
conscious of secondary causes that God no longer features in
our life and our thinking.... God is as much a need in every
event and action of our modem lives...as he was to the Jews in
the desert. We have just lost the faith-sense that enables us to
see him operating behind every secondary cause, to see his
hand guiding events personally through the veil of human agen-
cies.46
When attempting to enter the minds of Father Segura and his
companions, it is important to bear in mind that they saw the world
as a miraculous place. Their focus was on the "Primary Cause."

Steps Toward the Intracoastal
Waterway: The Blake Surveys of 1843
and 1845
by Joe Knetsch

With the close of the Second Seminole War and the passage of the
Armed Occupation Act of 1842, the settlement of southeast Florida
became an object of interest to the United States Army. The main
problem of settlement in this isolated region was how best to provide
the necessary means of cheap and efficient transportation to those
willing to make their homes in the territory. The road survey con-
ducted by Colonel James Gadsden in 1825 had indicated that the
yearly freshetss" on the rivers and streams emptying into the Atlantic
Ocean would destroy most bridges. Additionally, ferries required
ferrymen to operate them and there were too few settlers in the area
to provide this means of transportation across these dangerous bodies
of water. The only practicable solution was constructing a canal
across the "Haulover," which connected the Mosquito River with the
Indian River, and thus provide a nearly continuous navigable water-
way all the way to Cape Florida. To ascertain the feasibility of this
project, General William Worth, then commanding in Florida, ordered
Lieutenant Jacob Edmund Blake of the Topographical Engineers to
conduct a survey of the proposed canal's route.
On November 10, 1843, General Worth wrote to the head of
the Topographical Bureau, Colonel John James Abert:
"On examination of the accompanying Sketch you will perceive
that by a cut thro' the little strip of Land at the Haulover (Fort
Ann) which Seperates the Mosquito from Indian river lagoon,
marked half a mile, but in fact Seven hundred & twenty yards,
there will an uninterrupted batteaux navigation counting from
Bulows Southwardly of 270 miles; thence from the Southern

Joe Knetsch is an historian with the Bureau of Survey and Mapping,
Division of State Lands, Florida Department of Natural Resources. Knetsch
has conducted extensive research in the history of state-owned lands and
holds a doctorate in history from Florida State University and a master's
from Florida Atlantic University.

28 TEQUESTA

extremity of St. Lucia a slight detour by the Everglades enter-
ing the Miami sea reach, near Key Biscayne, the Inland pas-
sage around the cape to Key West. . this work which will
afford, at small cost, imense facilities to the settlers now stud-
ding the Southern Atlantic coast of the Peninsula, tend to bring
the public lands into market and it may be, in the future, greatly
facilitate the transmission of military supplies in respect to time,
expense and avoidance of hazardous navigation and the ac-
tive energies of an enemy's cruisers."
If allowed to use the garrison in St. Augustine, he argued, the
cost would only be about $5,500. For this survey, Lieutenant Blake,
with approval of Abert, might also have assistance from the staff of
Captain MacKay's party of surveyors. In the future, he speculated,
the cut between Matanzas and the Mosquito Rivers would extend
this proposed system of navigation all the way to St. Augustine.'
Worth, who had been encouraging settlement in Florida since 1841,
thought the plan was well adapted to accomplishing the aim of the
Armed Occupation Act, the settling of the frontier with sturdy pio-
neers willing to stay on the land and protect the more established
settlements further north.
The man chosen to make the survey, which was then already
in progress, was Lieutenant Blake, a Pennsylvania-born graduate of
the Military Academy, class of 1833. Blake had already served in
Florida during the Second Seminole War as an assistant topographi-
cal engineer during 1838 and 1839 and co-produced the well known
"MacKay-Blake Map" of 1840. Prior to his appointment on General
Worth's staff in 1842, he helped survey the boundary between the
United States and Texas, the harbors on the eastern end of Lake
Erie and on reconnaissance of the approaches to New Orleans. In
early 1844, Worth appointed his trusted lieutenant to be in charge of
surveys and improvements in the Florida territory. It was in this
capacity that Blake began the 1845 survey which is a main focus of
this article. He later served with distinction in the Mexican War at
the Battle of Palo Alto. Unfortunately, on May 9, 1846, this promising
young officer, at the time only 34 years old, was killed "by an acci-
dental discharge of his own pistol."2
By December 12, 1843, the ill-fated young lieutenant had turned
in his first survey report to his commander. Worth noted, in a letter
to Colonel Abert, that this report was "preparatory" to asking for the

The Blake Surveys 29

funding of his proposed project. He emphasized that the project would
be for the public benefit, especially the settlers, "many already in
occupation and others desirous of proceeding thither." It would like-
wise be acceptable to the troops and "creditable to the army." The
only impediment, he stated, was the cost for the quantity of planking
needed to build the revetment? Worth, it would appear, had little
doubt that the project would be acceptable to Abert and others in
Washington.
Blake's first report was dated December 11, 1843, and began
with the statement that the cutting of the canal would, "thus remove
the great source of toil and difficulty experienced by all settlers and
others passing from North to South by the inland route from Smyrna
to the mouth of Indian River." He properly noted that the force
stationed at Fort Ann during the late Indian war varied from 800 to
1000 men whose primary task was to haul the materials of war over
the haulover and reload the steamboats and other vessels for the trip
down the Indian River to Fort Pierce and beyond. In justification of
the projected canal, Blake wrote:
... from the large force so long employed there, the wagons,
mules & necessary forage, together with the supplies for the
troops, to say nothing of the necessity of the withdrawal of
such a force from the fighting strength actually in the field, I
hazard little in asserting that the expense of keeping up such a
force to overcome the difficulty arising from the interposition
of this narrow neck of land must have cost the Government in
six months twenty times the expense of cutting a canal from
one stream to the other...
He continued his justification by declaring: "Since the termina-
tion of the war this has been the general route for all settlers on
Indian River, St Lucie, Key Biscayne & Lake Worth." Together
with the "dangerous nature" of the bar at Indian River, the heavy
weather and the lack of pilots to guide settlers into the area, these
all contributed to making "the inland communication preferable at all
seasons."4 Blake's reasoning was fueled by the need to assist settle-
ment and ease communications with southern Florida.
The size of the proposed canal was large enough to admit the
passage of boats and scows drawing not more than three feet of
water. Its overall length was to be 725 yards with an average depth
of four feet, which would allow some of the normal siltration to take

30 TEQUESTA

place and still admit boats and scows drawing no more than three
feet of water. Part of the canal's distance, approximately 300 yards,
would be through soft sand, resembling quicksand, and would have
to have a revetment to hold back the sand once it was excavated.
This construction would require, "driving piles 8 inches square & 12
feet in length, at a distance of 12 feet apart, revetting the sides with
two inch plank," and possibly even planking the bottom of the canal
for this distance to prevent excessive build-up of sand on the bottom.
Like Worth, he called for the use of the force available at St. Au-
gustine to complete the canal and render the passage usable by
potential settlers. He estimated the costs for the project at a little
over $4,100, but warned that if the force at St. Francis Barracks
could not be used the costs could run as high as $10,000.5
Blake, a student of the Military Academy and subject to some
of its virtues as well as faults, estimated that the appropriation of-
fered for the completion of this canal was too small. His projection
that the project could cost as much as $10,000 must have seemed
excessive to many in Congress and his more politically aware supe-
riors in Washington.6 Whatever the cause, the work on the canal was
not allowed to continue in 1843. In the phrase of Captain William H.
Swift, then in charge of the Topographical Bureau, "Your remarks
upon the inadequacy of the appropriation for cutting a canal at the
Haulover will also be submitted to the Chief Topogl. Engr. This work
will also for the present be suspended."7 This was a rather terse
dismissal of the young lieutenant's recommendations.
Blake was ordered to shift his attention to the railroad survey
from Jacksonville or Palatka to Cedar Key, the route then being
proposed by some Floridians. He was, however, allowed to examine
alternatives to the cost figures he had given for the canal project. On
September 20, 1844, Blake was notified by Swift to proceed, after
having completed the railroad survey, "to make such examinations as
will enable you to state the cost of constructing a Canal at the
Haulover independently of any aid from the troops."8 The go-ahead
to redo the cost estimates had been given and the justification for the
resurvey had been approved, in principle. On March 3, 1845, Blake
wrote to Abert that he had not radically changed the position of the
proposed canal but had slightly increased the distance to be covered
by about 150 yards to "guard against the formation of bars at either
mouth." Most significantly, Blake found that the estimate of $5,000,
in addition to the $1,500 already expended in his surveys, would be

The Blake Surveys 31

adequate to construct this canal, in sharp contrast to the earlier
estimate of $10,000.9
The contrasts that are noted in Blake's estimates reflect a
deeper contrast in the report filed in 1845, the transcription of which
follows. What is significant about the new report is the number of
changes in emphasis and attitude toward the area of southern Florida.
Blake reported that the surveys of the Public Lands had recently
been completed along part of the route to the south and that these
had exposed numerous lakes and creeks. He further stated that
although settlers from neighboring states had attempted to establish
settlements thereon, these had, apparently, failed and there was "but
little prospect of ever forming permanent and thriving settlements" in
the area. He noted the numerous bars at the entrances of many
rivers, Jupiter, New and Hillsborough, for example, "are all subject to
sudden and frequent changes, sometimes entirely closed ... all unfit
and unreliable for the purposes of navigation." He declared, also, that
the territory was threatened by the "agonies of killing thirst" and, at
other times, so wet as to prevent the transportation of goods neces-
sary for survival. The large proportion of swamp and saw grass
marshes noted on the Public Land surveys, he believed, came from
the fact that the surveyors were frequently interrupted in their work
by heavy rainfall which covered the land with water, "where it was
previously difficult to find sufficient for drinking purposes." Drainage
of the area was the only alternative and there were too few people
to accomplish this needed task.
Blake's 1845 report also brought to light the reason behind
some of the Public Land surveys, the fact that many Spanish land
grants existed in the territory and they had to be segregated from
lands opened to public settlement. These grants, Blake maintained,
took up the most desirable lands, leaving little of worth for public
settlement. Some, he noted, had been sold to other interested parties,
and he used the example of Miami pioneer William English as one
of the more notable. Thus, with poor lands available to the public and
much of the land covered with water, Blake was not optimistic about
permanent settlement of South Florida.
The young lieutenant, however, had learned that the political
winds had changed, and the report obviously reflected this. Settle-
ment was no longer the main justification for the canal, but the
possible military necessity of protecting communication with the newly
established fortification at Key West became a major focus of con-

32 TEQUESTA

cern. He also hit heavily upon the age old argument for the intracoastal
system, the protection of shipping from attack and heavy weather.
The wrecking interests were the only ones who benefited from the
lack of an intracoastal waterway, he noted, and the benefits from
such a canal would be in the national interest. In the final arguments
for the canal, he conceded that southern Florida had not been given
a flattering picture and that there was a need to experiment with
"tropical and European fruits" to encourage greater settlement. For
a final benefit, he graciously stated that the "boundless grazing facili-
ties, and inexhaustible fisheries, render its improvements and speedy
settlement of vast importance to the general prosperity of the coun-
try." Blake's changed attitudes and opinions of southern Florida, as
exhibited in his reports of 1843 and 1845, make for an interesting
study in national policy as it related to internal improvements and the
Army's role in their construction. He also gives us glimpses of the
frontier state of the territory and relative uncertainty of pioneer life
in a southern Florida that has long since disappeared.
A final word about the Haulover canal's history is in order.
While preparing to carry out the policy of forcing the Indians of
Florida to remove or fight, the Army assigned Lieutenant Horatio G.
Wright to supervise the construction of a shallow canal through the
Haulover to facilitate the movement of supplies to southern Florida,
where the fighting, if it came to that, would most likely take place.
The canal constructed by Wright's command was eight feet wide on
the bottom and 12 feet at top with a usable depth of about two feet.
As historian George Buker has noted: "It was no coincidence that the
Haulover Canal was designed for the small boat operation used by
the Army in its earlier Indian struggles along the Florida coast."10
During the Third Seminole war, the canal was used frequently for
hauling men and materials to South Florida.
The Army did not maintain the canal after the conclusion of the
war and there was little population along the shore to keep it in good
repair during the Civil War or immediately thereafter. Reports from
engineer J. Francis LaBaron showed that the canal, on his trip of
1869, had silted in heavily and it was with difficulty he used it for his
small vessel. In his later trip of 1878, he found that local interests had
deepened the canal and it admitted boats of 11 foot beam and draw-
ing about one to two feet of water. After the founding of the Florida
Coast Line Canal and Transportation Company, which constructed
the remainder of the Intracoastal canal, the Haulover remained us-

The Blake Surveys 33

able for most vessels plying the Indian River trade." By 1892, the
settlements along the Indian River were such that a project was
initiated for clearing a channel five feet deep and 75 feet wide
throughout the Indian River for the improvement of steamboat traf-
fic. The Haulover canal, however, was continually maintained by the
private interests of the canal company."2 Since the Federal govern-
ment obtained the Intracoastal Canal in 1930-31, the Haulover has
been maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers in conjunction with
the Florida Inland Navigation District.

Report on cutting a Canal at the Haulover at Fort Ann, with
remarks on the Inland communication between St. Augustine and
Cape Florida.

In November 1843 a survey of the neck of land separating the
waters of Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon, at a point generally
known as the Haulover, was directed to be made by Brigr. Genl. W.
J. Worth, commanding the 9th Military Dept., in order to determine
the practicability of connecting those waters by a Canal, the survey
was immediately made and a favorable report thereon presented in
the following December, the estimated cost of the canal being $4,185,
based on the supposition that the work could be performed by such
a force as could be spared for the purpose taken from the troops in
garrison at St. Augustine. Without such assistance it was estimated
that the cost of construction would not be far from $10,000. Near the
close of the Congress then in session $1500 was appropriated for this
work, an amount considered altogether inadequate for the object
proposed. Although asked, authority was not granted to make such
disposition of the force then in garrison, and the numerical strength
of companies in service having subsequently been reduced to the
lowest practicable peace establishment, the proposed plan of con-
struction failed in consequence. At a later period a detailed survey
was ordered by the Topographical Bureau and an estimate required
based on the necessity of completing the work without the aid of the

34 TEQUESTA

troops. In accordance with these latter instructions a resurvey was
made in February last, the position of the proposed cut slightly changed
with regard to the direction of the channels in Indian River and
Mosquito Lagoon, and the nature of the ground and the relative
height of the water in the two Rivers more carefully observed and
studied. I have in consequence became by recent and continued
observation that a mere cut is all that is necessary to connect the two
rivers, the revetment of the sides and bottom of that portion passing
thro the sand as proposed in my report of the 11th December 1843
can consequently be dispensed with.
The sections on the Map accompanying this report will show
the nature of the ground thro' which the cut is to be made, composed
of rock (hard coquina) shell and sand; so much of the cut forming
the water way of the canal passes thro' a mixture of sand and water,
the latter rendering its removal somewhat tedious and more costly.
The width has been increased from 10 to 15 feet, the depth remain-
ing the same. To provide for a navigation requiring a greater depth
than 4 feet is not deemed desirable, indeed it may be considered
doubtful if such a proposition would not prove to be impracticable,
owing to the general shallowness, except at enormous if not incalcu-
lable expense.
I submit herewith an estimate for the construction of the canal;

4400 C. Y. rock, 75 cts. $3,300
6000 C. Y. sand 15 cts. 900
3900 C. Y. sand & water 25 cts 975
$5,175
Clearing out the channel to deep water
at the two termini 1,000
Contingencies &c. &c. 325
$6,500
of which $1500 already appropriated remains untouched, having a
balance of $5000 required to complete the work, and thereby opening
an uninterrupted batteau communication extending over a distance of
2 1/2 degrees Latitude, separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a
distance seldom exceeding half a mile.
The necessity of opening a direct communication from St. Au-
gustine to Cape Florida either by land or improving the Lakes and
sounds forming nearly a continuous boat navigation between the two
places has frequently been suggested and repeatedly commanded the

The Blake Surveys 35

attention of the Territorial Legislature. Its importance, at all times
great, has been materially enhanced by the steps now taking by the
Genl. Government to fortify Key West, the advanced Post of the
United States. In 1825 a survey of a route for a Road from St.
Augustine to Cape Florida was made by Col. Gadsden and the sub-
ject ably discussed in his report thereon. Doubts were then expressed
whether the country over which the road should pass, particularly the
southern portion, would ever be sufficiently populated to render such
a road necessary, and even when constructed, the inducements to
individuals to keep up the necessary ferries would scarcely ever be
adequate. Experience has fully proved the correctness of these views,
and little doubt can longer exist of the superior advantages to be
anticipated in opening the water communication.
The surveys of the public lands have lately been extended as
far South as Cape Florida, residents of other neighboring States have
from time to time made efforts to locate themselves on the banks of
the several Lakes and creeks, yet notwithstanding material and, so
requisite in a country passing from a state of war to peace, has been
gratuitously advanced by the Military authorities as far as the means
at their disposal would warrant, there exists at present but little pros-
pect of ever forming permanent and thriving settlements. The bars at
the several entrances from the Atlantic, at Indian River, Gilberts,
Jupiter, Hillsborough and New Rivers &c. &c. are all subject to
sudden and frequent changes, sometimes entirely closed, at others
slightly deepening, but all unfit and unreliable for the purposes of
navigation. To reach these lands from St. Augustine or the more
Northern settlements, it is necessary to cross a country devoid of
roads, streams without bridges, no habitations or pioneer settlements,
at one time the country so dry that you are threatened with all the
agonies of killing thirst, at another, so wet that transportation of the
necessary supplies and immediate wants of a new settlement is al-
most impossible, and altogether beyond the means of the ordinary
emigrant. Two routes are still open for selection, the one to brave the
Atlantic in open boats at the imminent risk of destruction in crossing
the bars near the destined place of settlement, in attempting which
serious losses, enough to dishearten the enterprising settler, have
already frequently occurred, or to take the inland passage by the
lakes and creeks which may be navigable, and hauling canoes and
supplies by bodily strength alone over such places as may not pos-
sess the requisite depth of water. This is a hard alternative, but it is

36 TEQUESTA

the only safe and practicable one left. With a view to bring this
subject in a proper manner to the consideration of the Government,
I have prepared a map exhibiting the different communications on the
proposed routes, making (in red ink) such places as it would be
necessary to open or deepen to secure at all times a continuous
inland batteau navigation.
The Map exhibits the surveys lately completed by the deputy
surveyors; the large proportion of swamp and saw grass marshes
depicted thereon may be attributed to the fact that the surveyors
were interrupted in their labors by showers of rain which immediately
covered with water ground where it was previously difficult to find
sufficient for drinking purposes. The canals requisite to open these
communications will have an important bearing upon the drainage of
the country, it is impracticable with any hopes of future profit for a
single individual to perfect a system of drainage which would render
his lands available for agricultural purposes, these canals would con-
stitute the main drains to which communications might be opened by
individual settlers to secure their own lands, and in every instance
each successive settler performing his proportion of the general sys-
tem. Without improvement to these channels it is utterly hopeless to
anticipate the settlement of the Southern portion of Florida, even
were the lands to be given by the Government to those disposed to
settle there, a proposition which at first sight may appear startling, but
the more it is considered, I feel convinced, the more favorably will
it be received.
The better portions of land in this section of country adapted to
agricultural purposes are already covered by old Spanish grants and
have become the property of the original grantee or others who have
purchased their interest, such as English's settlement on the Miami,
the grants of Gomez, Hanson, Fleming & others not marked on the
Map. The holders of these extensive grants would willingly give small
lots, or dispose of them at a mere nominal price to industrious and
enterprising settlers, and by this means enhance the value of the
remaining portion of their property. This course of proceeding nec-
essarily depreciates the value of the public lands, immeasurably in-
ferior in quality, if not entirely worthless, and less favorably located,
rendering their sale and subsequent location hopeless while subjected
to the two fold withering operation of inferiority in quality and situ-
ation. The mere loss of dollars and cents in giving away, either to
individuals or to the State of Florida, this portion of the public

The Blake Surveys 37

domain, or disposing of it at a mere nominal price, will be nothing
when considered in connection with the National policy of occur-
ring its speedy settlement, and connecting our important Military
works at Key West and the entire Florida reef with the back and
settled portions of the country. As it now stands, without improve-
ment to its avenues of approach, I feel confident that for years
to come, if ever, it will not refund to the Treasury the original cost
of Survey.
This section of country is accurately described by Col. Gadsden
in his report of 1825, more recent experience, personal observation
and frequent conversations with others the best acquainted with the
localities satisfy me of the general correctness of his views.
"The whole country South of the Mosquito offers but feeble
allurements to an agricultural population, and this opinion is somewhat
strengthened by the fact of there being no evidences within that
distance of old Indian settlements, scattering hunting camps alone
indicate the purposes to which that district had been hitherto appro-
priated. The only land fit for cultivation is on the immediate margins
of the Rivers and Inlets, inconsiderable as to extent, and of a light
sandy soil, barely sufficient to raise the ordinary subsistence in grain
for small families, whose energies may be directed to other than
agricultural objects. The resources of this southern district of Florida
are limited to ranges for stock of cattle, to wrecking and the fisheries,
objects in themselves opposed to a dense population and only inviting
to that class of adventurous emigrants who attach little value to
roads, and would prefer in their neighborhood communications mak-
ing use of the water channels provided by nature. These channels
are in the chain of inlets and Lakes which extend with but partial
interruptions the whole length of the coast from St. Augustine to
Cape Florida."
By inspecting the Map illustrative of and accompanying this
Report, it will be seen that Matanzas and Halifax Rivers are sepa-
rated by a distance not exceeding 12 miles, the intervening country
being low and flat and but slightly elevated above the waters in the
two rivers, and in wet weather being altogether under water. Mos-
quito River is again separated from Indian River at the Haulover by
a narrow strip of about 1/2 a mile in extent, the communication is
again uninterrupted until you reach the head of a small creek falling
into Jupiter Inlet and separated only by a distance of 2 miles from
Lake Worth, this latter obstacle being in fact passable at high water;

38 TEQUESTA

at the Southern termination of Lake Worth 22 miles in length there
is another long obstruction of 11 miles, again consisting of low wet
marshy land over which boats have passed in high stages of water;
thence to New River Inlet the communication is open requiring at this
latter point a cut of 2 miles in extent to connect with Snake Creek,
and thence by Biscayne Bay to Cape Florida. At this point com-
mences a wide and extensive navigations between the Islands bor-
dering the Eastern Coast of Florida and the reef of rocks extending
at a distance of from 3 to 5 miles from the main land from Cape
Florida to the Tortugas, protected by this reef from the swell of the
Atlantic and force of the Gulf Stream, passing several keys on which
settlements have been made, all possessing an importance from their
connection with the wrecking interest and the fisheries. It is on this
reef that such a vast amount of property is annually lost to the United
States, the entire distance from Cape Florida to Key West being in
all seasons of the year and in all weathers studded with vessels
connected with the wrecking interest.
Although by no means a flattering opinion is advanced of the
peculiar formation and qualifications of the Southern section of Florida,
I would not be understood as condemning every effort that may be
made to multiply and increase settlements thereon. On the contrary,
this section of country is entitled from many grave and weighty
considerations to the fostering care of the Government, the necessity
of an uninterrupted communication between the more Northern settle-
ments and the extensive Military works in the course of construction
at Key West, together with the reasonable claims of its inhabitants
to the benefits anticipated from a frequent and regular transmission
of the mail to and from the intervening settlements and Islands on the
route must be apparent to every one. Moreover tho' the land is
unsuited for the production of corn, grain and the immediate wants
of the settler, the climate, in some degree, supplies the deficiencies
of its peculiar soil and renders it valuable as a nursery, in time, for
tropical and European fruits, and with the constantly progressive
improvements in agricultural science, the probable discovery of its
applicability for other staples, its boundless grazing facilities, and in-
exhaustible fisheries, render its improvements and speedy settlement
of vast importance to the general prosperity of the country. It has yet
to pass thro' the costly ordeal of experiment and the most serious
obstacle that the bold and energetic operator will have to contend
with is the almost impossible task of sending to market the precarious

The Blake Surveys 39

fruit of his anxious labors. The peculiar character of its natural pro-
ductions, such as oranges, lemons, limes, bananas, & tropical fruits
in general will not admit of extensive land transportation. This fact
together with the impracticability of keeping up the bridges on a road
annually subjected to destruction by floods, and fire from the woods,
and the sparse population rendering it difficult to support the requisite
ferries over the larger streams, leave no doubt as to the superior
advantages of opening a water communication throughout, rather
than attempting the construction of a road, costly in the first outlay
and requiring extensive annual repairs.
As these several obstructions in the general line have never
been submitted to instrumental examination, I have no means of
arriving at a safe estimate of the cost of construction; the cuts are
longer than have generally been reported and other routes might
possibly be found available on closer examination; the intervening
land is in all cases represented as low and easy of removal and little
more that the displacement of sufficient earth to form the body of the
canal, say 15 feet wide and 4 feet deep, would be necessary.
It is believed that the total cost of opening the entire commu-
nication from St. Augustine to Cape Florida, a distance of 300 miles,
would not exceed $50,000; an appropriation of $1500 would be suf-
ficient to collect the necessary data on which to base a more accu-
rate estimate.
All of which is respectfully submitted,
J. Edmd. Blake
1st. Lieut. Topi. Engs.

[Letters Received by the Topographical Bureau of the War
Department, 1824-1865. Record Group 77, Roll 4. B August 1825
- December 1849. Microcopy No. 506. National Archives, Washing-
ton.]

40 TEQUESTA

Endnotes

1. Clarence E. Carter. The Territorial Papers of the United
States: Volume XXVI, The Territory of Florida, 1839-1845.
Washington: National Archives, 1962.780. [Hereafter Territorial Papers
and page number. All quotations will be found in Volume XXVI.]
2. George W. Cullum. Biographical Register of the Officers
and Graduates of the United States Military Academy. Boston:
Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1891.558-59. The register lists him as
Jacob E. Blake, however, he almost always signed his official letters as
J. Edmd. Blake.
3. Territorial Papers. 802-03.
4. Territorial Papers. 803-04.
5. Territorial Papers. 805-07.
6. For a good discussion of the conflicts the officers of the
Topographical Bureau often faced when estimating costs of projects
and the reactions to these, see Todd Shallat's discussion of the
Chesapeake and Ohio canal project in his article, "Building Waterways,
1802-1861: Science and the United States Army in Early Public Works."
Technology and Culture. 31(January 1990): 28-38.
7. Territorial Papers. 947-48. Letter dated August 19, 1844.
8. Territorial Papers. 965-66.
9. Territorial Papers. 1023.
10. George E. Buker. Sun, Sand and Water: A History of the
Jacksonville District U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1821-1975.
Jacksonville: U. S. Army Engineer District, 1981. 116.
11. Buker. 116-17.
12. Aubrey Parkman. History of the Waterways of the Atlantic
Coasts of the United States. Washington: U. S. Army Water Resources
Support Center, 1983. 83.

The Beginning of the Episcopal Church
in the Miami Area

By Edgar Legare Pennington, S.T.D.

Reprinted with the permission of Trinity Episcopal
Cathedral, Inc. from The Church in Story and Pageant,
Publication No. 70, March-May, 1941, Church Missions
Publishing Company, Hartford, Connecticut.

When the Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida was consti-
tuted in 1892, there was no work conducted by the Episcopal Church
between Lake Worth and Key West. That long Atlantic seaboard-
a stretch of 225 miles-was thinly settled, difficult of access, and of
little promise. The first official mention of a prospect of develop-
ment along the part of the Florida east coast is found in the Journal
of the Second Annual Convocation of the Missionary Jurisdic-
tion (1894) where Coconut Grove, Miami, and Lemon City are listed
among the mission stations, and the Reverend Gilbert Higgs, D.D.,
rector of St. Paul's, Key West, is Archdeacon, with the counties of
Monroe, Lee, and Dade "to Lake Worth" in his district.
Bishop William Crane Gray, the first Bishop of the new Mis-
sionary Jurisdiction, had been elected by the General Convention of
the Church in October 1892, in the city of Baltimore, as Missionary
Bishop. His consecration took place in the Church of the Advent,
Nashville, Tennessee (where he was rector), on December 29th, the
same year. On the 3rd of January, 1893, he took leave of his parish
and the city of Nashville; and on the 5th he was present at Orlando
for the meeting of "the Southern Convocation." A week later, he was
on his way to Key West, for a prolonged visitation of the district.
On the 29th of April 1892, Bishop Gray reached the Biscayne
region, where, so far as he could ascertain, "no Bishop had ever
been, and only once had a Clergyman of the Church made a brief
sojourn there." Bishop Gray became at once the guest of Mrs. Julia
D. Tuttle at Miami;1 and he expressed thanks in his convocation
address to her "for the careful and painstaking way in which she had
prepared for [his] visit, making it known far and wide, and arranging
for the different services he was to hold, where to hold them, and

42 TEQUESTA

placing her private launch at [his] disposal." On the 30th of April, in
a school house at Lemon City, the Bishop had a Baptism and a
Confirmation and celebrated Holy Communion. At night, he held
service in the Union Church at Coconut Grove, 13 miles farther
down the bay. He regarded the prospect as "certainly good for the
Church in this whole region, provided the ground be occupied at
once." He spent an entire week visiting among the people, far and
near, "by land and by water, visiting them in their homes, talking to
them, instructing them, preparing some for Baptism and Confirma-
tion, and in every way possible endeavoring to improve the oppor-
tunity before [him]."
He stated "I ascertained that in a large portion of this region the
number of Church people, or those who have been more or less
under the influence of the Church, is greater than that of any other
religious body, and they are very anxious to see the Church estab-
lished in their midst."
On May 6, Bishop Gray visited an isolated church family living
on Elliott's Key; and was impressed by the 40 acres of pineapples,
containing about 4,800,000 plants. On Sunday, May 7, he held
morning service preaching at Coconut Grove and at night preached
at Lemon City and confirmed three persons. The next day he left for
Key West.
On November 28, 1893, Bishop Gray was again in the Biscayne
Bay region, having arrived by stage from Lantana along the edge of
the Everglades-the most trying and expensive journey I have to
make in all my jurisdiction." He stopped first at a small house within
a few miles of Lemon City-a house which was both the post office
and a dwelling. He stepped inside and saw a number of children;
thereupon he asked, "Have these children been baptized?" The par-
ents both answered, "No." The Bishop found on inquiry that they
were anxious to have it done and wanted him to do it; so he promised
to prevail on the driver to start early enough on his return trip to
attend to it.
Having had two good lots donated at Lemon City for a church,
Bishop Gray, on November 29, appointed a committee to raise, sub-
scriptions "towards the first Episcopal Church to be built on Bis-
cayne Bay." The next day (St. Andrew's and Thanksgiving Day), he
was taken in a private launch to Coconut Grove, where, in the evening,
he held service and preached to a large congregation in the Union

The Episcopal Church in Miami 43

Church. The first of December was partly spent in examining pos-
sible locations for the church at Coconut Grove. Lots were offered
by different parties; but the Bishop was not quite satisfied. He held
services again that evening at Coconut Grove; two days later he had
a Baptism in the country, after which he held services in the Meth-
odist Church, preached, confirmed four persons, and celebrated the
Holy Eucharist. That evening (December 3rd), he held service and
preached in the residence of Julia Tuttle, at the mouth of the Miami
River, occupying the spot which used to be Fort Dallas. The Bishop
foresaw the prospects of development through the anticipated exten-
sion of the Florida East Coast Railway and he felt that a clergyman
should be provided for Biscayne Bay as soon as means were forth-
coming.
On his return (December 4th), the Bishop found the children
and parents awaiting him and their promised baptisms in the Bis-
cayne post office.2 He secured two men to act with the parents as
sponsors. "I put on my robes in the one room" he said, "and had a
brief service and baptized six children. Parents and sponsors sol-
emnly promised to do their duty faithfully as it regards those chil-
dren."3
These entries are very significant. They show the promptness
with which Bishop Gray undertook the planting of the Church in
remote and neglected areas; and specifically they furnish the dates
of the initial services in Lemon City, Coconut Grove, and Miami.
The Reverend Doctor Gilbert Higgs, in his capacity as Arch-
deacon of "Monroe, Lee, and Dade to Lake Worth," followed up the
Bishop's visit by a trip to the Miami area in the early part of 1894.
Thus he reports it:
On the 25th January, 1894, I took passage in a sailing vessel
from Key West to Coconut Grove, in Dade County, and ar-
rived there on the evening of the 27th. Met with a cordial re-
ception and was entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Monroe.4
Made three visits that evening.

"On Sunday January 38th, I read Morning and Evening Prayer
and preached twice in a Union Meeting House, made four vis-
its, attended the Sunday School and addressed the scholars.

January 29. In company with Miss McFarlane,' a most ener-
getic and faithful Communicant, made four visits in the morn-

44 TEQUESTA

ing. In the afternoon I made eleven visits. Was called out twice
that night to read prayers with a sick woman,

January 30. Made two visits. Mr. Kirk Munroe kindly took me
in his yacht to Miami, where I met with every attention from
Mrs. J. D. Tuttle and her family and was most hospitably en-
tertained by them.

January 31. Accompanied by Miss Tuttle, made fourteen vis-
its, and arrived at Lemon City late in the evening.

February 1. Accompanied by Mr. Niles,6 an earnest member
of the Church, made ten visits. Visited the public school and
addressed the children.

February 2. Returned to Miami to Mrs. Tuttle's who very
kindly took me in her naphtha launch the next day to the head
waters of the Miami River.7 Ibaptized in the evening two adults.

February 4. Went in the launch to Lemon City. Read Morning
and Evening Prayer and preached twice. Returned in the
evening to Miami.

February 5. Left Miami at 9 A.M. for Key West. Detained all
day; our sloop on the rocks; got off at 9 P.M.

February 6. Landed at Elliott's Key and made one visit.

Arrived at Key West February 7 in time for Litany.8

The next year, Doctor Higgs made only an oral report to the
Convocation; and there is no record of his activities in or around
Miami. Bishop Gray appeared in that region in March, 1895. On the
6th day of that month, he "took sailing vessel for Biscayne Bay at
9 A.M. The wind was 'dead ahead,' and the sea very rough. At
night we had by taking gone 60 miles of distance, to make 20 miles
towards our destination."
"Friday, (March) 8th. Entered Bay Biscayne at 10 A.M., and
reached Miami at about noon Sunday 10th. Morning service
and sermon at Coconut Grove. Took a launch to Lemon City,
where I read service and preached. I baptized two children, and
confirmed one person.

The Episcopal Church in Miami 45

"Monday, I Ith. Visited all day, and found several persons who
should have been confirmed. I must have a clergyman here.

'Tuesday, 12th. Preached and administered Holy Communion
at 10:30 A.M. Nine persons received. They have had no oppor-
tunity since I was here a year ago.

"Wednesday, 13th. Left Lemon City on hack at 10 A.M. for a
two days' trip through the desert region. Reached Camp
LaFayette a little after dark. On the way was called on to stop
and baptize a child.

'"Thursday, 14th. Left Camp LaFayette at 7 A.M., and it was
after 8 P.M. when we arrived at Lantana. Then went ten miles
in a row-boat to W. Palm Beach, where I spent the night."''

The late John Sewell, who was sent by Henry Morrison Flagler
to represent his interests in laying out and developing Miami, has left
us, in his Memoirs and History of Miami (published in Miami by the
Franklin Press) a very interesting narrative and description of early
Dade County life and conditions. In the summer of 1895, Mr. Flagler
let the contract to extend the Florida East Coast Railway from West
Palm Beach to Miami. Mrs. Julia D. Tuttle owned the land north of
the Miami River; and at the time, said Mr. Sewell, "the Tuttle house,
Fort Dallas, and the Brickell home, on the point south of the Miami
River, and F. S. Morse's house, just south of the Brickell home, were
the only settlements of Miami proper. There was very little clearing
around the homes."'1
When John Sewell, Everest G. Sewell (his brother), and their
party arrived for the purpose of laying out the city, March 3rd, 1896,
they "found Miami all woods. Mrs. Tuttle had opened up Avenue D-
Miami Avenue-from the Miami River north to 14th Street," and
there were "several little shacks and tents started on this street." Mrs.
Tuttle had started to build the Miami Hotel, located east of Avenue
D and south of the spur railroad track which was the lead down to
the Royal Palm Hotel."
Bishop Gray saw Miami in its pioneer days. He made a visit to
the Bay Biscayne vicinity in February 1896-his second visit. He
arrived after a very rough and arduous journey from Key West, on the
Dellie (or the Della-the Cana Company's boat). On board there was

46 TEQUESTA

"a motley crowd," including a party whom the major of Key West
had surprised in a gambling den.
"Thursday, February 13. Running slowly among the keys. Still
very rough. At 3 P. M. only eight-five miles from Key West.

"Friday, February 14th. 9 A. M.-Off Coconut Grove. At 2 P.M.
last night ran aground. 'Dead' low tide and no wind. The sun
pouring down upon us makes it very warm and close. At dark
the Captain came in to say that we must remain all night, and in
the meantime everything has been drenched by a pouring rain.
Truly, a trying day.

"Saturday, February 15th. Lemon City. More rain, and again
low tide, so we could not reach the dock, but were sent ashore
in a boat. Got baggage just in time to perform a marriage cer-
emony at Hotel Connolly, for Eugene Lee and Mrs. Marion
Macdonald. Drove to Miami in the afternoon to arrange for
services, and returned to Lemon City."

This is the first recorded marriage performed by an Episcopal
clergyman in the Miami area. The next day was Sunday,
Quinquagesima; and Bishop Gray started at eight, by way of Miami,
for Coconut Grove, for morning service. There he preached to a
good congregation, after which he drove back to Miami, and "at 3 P.M.
walked over to the hotel in the rain. Service and sermon in dining
room, which was leading in every direction, but in spite of it all had
good congregation, mostly men." After service, the Bishop drove to
Lemon City. It was still raining. In the evening,
"went over to the Methodist church, where service was ap-
pointed. Found it all dark. I went in and lighted up and some
one came and rang the bell. Had service and preached to a good
congregation, mostly men. After service two gentlemen came
to speak to me and I found, to my great relief, that they could
take me the next day to Lake Worth, in their steamer, in time
for my appointment there on Ash Wednesday.

"Monday, February 17th. Took steamer at 9:30, thankful to
get aboard, and so escape the tedious two days staging through
the sand-in risk, too, of being late for my next appointment.""

The Episcopal Church in Miami 47

Mr. John Sewell has given a delightful account of one of Bishop
Gray's early visits to Miami, and of the way in which a congregation
was collected. Soon after his arrival, Mr. Sewell received a note
from Miss Fannie Tuttle, daughter of Mrs. Julia D. Tuttle.
"She wanted me to go with her in her launch to Lemon City to
hear some Episcopal bishop preach and she was going to bring
the bishop back with her and he would preach in the Congre-
gational tent that afternoon. She stated in the note that, if I could
not go, she would like to borrow my light rowboat, called the
May, as she feared the water was so low in the bay that her
launch could not get to the dock at Lemon City. I wrote her in
reply I was sorry that I could not go, but she was welcome to
the May, and I would hear the bishop that afternoon in the tent.
About 3:30 that afternoon I strolled over to the tent. I found
the bishop sitting on the preacher's stand, also Mrs. Plass was
at the organ, and Miss Tuttle and the bishop's secretary were
sitting in the choir seats-only the four in the tent. The bishop
rose and said that 'we have a preacher, an organist and a choir,
and one for a congregation and that we had better begin the
service.' I rose and asked him if he was going to preach and he
answered in the affirmative. I told him just to wait a few minutes
and I would get him a congregation, for there was no use of his
wasting a sermon on me. He said that he was afraid to let me go
for fear I would not come back. Miss Tuttle assured him that I
would come back and he agreed to wait.

"First thing that I did was to go over on Avenue D where there
was a pool room with a crowd of men playing pool. (I will state
that there were pool rooms and cold drink stands along Av-
enue D near the Miami River within a week after my arrival
here.) I told the men that ran this pool room to close up the
pool room right then and for the whole bunch to go across the
street to the gospel tent, as there was a preacher over there who
wanted to preach and had no congregation and that I was not
going to have a preacher come to Miami and go away and say
that he could not get a congregation to preach to. So they closed
the pool room and the men began to file out and go over to the
tent. I went to the cold drink stands and gave them the same
spiel. So they closed up shop and went to church. Then I went
to our quarters in the Miami Hotel, where a great many of us

48 TEQUESTA

were kind of camping then, and went up and down the halls
giving them the same spiel that there was a preacher here who
wanted to preach and nobody to preach to. Some of the men
were asleep in their rooms on their cots, as we didn't have beds
then. Some of the men that were asleep on their cots didn't take
to the idea of getting up and going to church. Those of that
class I turned their cots over and spilled them out on the floor
and the shock waked them enough to know and went to Church,
a regular stream leaving the hotel for the tent. Among those in
the bunch were J. E. Lummus, E. G. Sewell, C. T. McCrimmon,
T. L. Townley and L. C. Oliver, that I remember. Altogether I
sent between twenty-five and forty out of the hotel. Then I went
around to the tents and shacks looking for a congregation, and
sent all that I found to the tent. I finally ran across a couple of
ladies walking up the railroad grade, as the railroad track had
not reached Miami then. I asked them if they would mind go-
ing to the gospel tent to hear this bishop preach as he wanted
to preach and I was trying to muster him up a congregation.
They said they would be glad to go. I think one of these ladies
was Mrs. A. B. Weaver and the other is a Mrs. Campbell. At
this time this was a city of men-very few ladies. After sending
these two ladies on to church, all the woods around seemed
deserted, and I decided that I had gotten everybody over to
the tent and went back to the tent myself.

"There I found the tent full and all singing, and it sounded good,
and I finally found space on a bench for a seat, and the bishop
started to preach. About the time that I got to my seat and had
heard about a dozen words of his sermon, I heard the steam-
boat whistle blow for a landing at the foot of Avenue D. I had
to leave the tent and go down and put my men to work un-
loading the boat, as we were bringing lumber and material for
the Royal Palm Hotel on boats from Ft. Lauderdale, which was
the terminal of the railroad at that time, and I had to unload
boats as quickly as possible to keep them going. But I got the
bishop a fine congregation by thrashing out the highways and
by ways, even if I did not get to hear his sermon myself. Of
course, at that time there was no law in Miami. I had no trouble
closing pool rooms and cold drink stands, as the proprietors
were willing to do anything I asked.'3

The Episcopal Church in Miami 49

Bishop Gray had been increasingly impressed with the need of
a resident clergyman in the Miami area; and at last the opportunity
presented itself in the Reverent Henry Dunlop. That clergyman had
been ordered Deacon in 1867, and ordained to the Priesthood in St.
Matthew's Church (later St. Paul's), Savannah, on the 31st of May,
1874. His ministry in the Diocese of George was first in connection
with the Ogreechee Missions, and then with the Camden Missions.
He had worked in a hard and difficult field, especially among the
Negroes on the Ogeechee River; and his experiences had "tested the
metal of the man, as did also his brave ministrations in Savannah
during the yellow fever epidemic in 1876." The citizens, as a token
of their appreciation of his services, gave him a purse of five hun-
dred dollars. He declined, however, saying that there were others
who needed it more; and he distributed the entire sum among the
worthy poor. In May 1896, Bishop Gray made arrangements to take
Mr. Dunlop with him to Biscayne Bay. On the 10th of June, Mr.
Dunlop joined the Bishop at Jacksonville; and the following day-
the feast of St. Barnabas-the Bishop held an early celebration at
Mrs. Julia Tuttle's house in Miami.
After breakfast, Bishop Gray went with Mr. William Mark
Brown,14 who had become a resident of Miami, over most of the
town; and he decided to ratify Mrs. Tuttle's choice of a lot for the
Miami church. Officers were appointed, as well as a committee, to
raise funds for building the church edifice. On the 12th of June, the
Bishop went with Mr. Brown and measured the church-lot, locating
a place for a temporary church in the middle, leaving space to be
beautified. He marked the spot with a cross, and took possession in
the name of the Blessed Trinity, calling the new church by that name.
"The building is to commence at once; our church to be the first
one in Miami, a notable fact. I held first public religious service in
Miami three years ago."
On Saturday (June 13th), Mr. Brown took the party in a launch
up to the falls of Miami River in the Everglades, and then down to
Coconut Grove. "We had a most delightful day." On Sunday, June
14th, "rain, rain, rain, rain all day, and yet it has been a blessed day."
"Assisted by Mr. Dunlop, I held service in Presbyterian tent,
which was kindly offered by Rev. Mr. Kegwin,15 preached and cel-
ebrated Holy Communion. Service again at night-in the rain-but
had a good congregation. All here has gone beyond my most san-
guine expectations."

50 TEQUESTA

Trinity Episcopal Church, built in 1897, on the corner of what is now NE
Second Avenue and Second Street. In the beginning the church building had
no glass windows, so cheesecloth was used to coverthe openings to keep out
the mosquitoes. Parishioners called themselves the "Church of the Holy
Cheesecloth." (Photos courtesy of Arva Moore Parks)

-w
* --fl-
3 ~ I

The Episcopal Church in Miami 51

At five o'clock the following morning, the Bishop boarded the
train for Jacksonville, leaving Mr. Dunlop in charge of the Miami
work, Railroad connections had been established at last; and trans-
portation had become much easier. But Mr. Dunlop's Miami ministry
was of short duration. On the 5th of December, 1896, he died at his
post of duty. In the resolutions passed at the next Convocation, one
of the committee attested that "he had already made a deep impres-
sion for good upon the resident population. Had his valuable life been
longer spared, he would have doubtless achieved a most blessed
work for the Church."
Bishop Gray arrived in Miami on the 16th of December. He
appointed C. Milburn of Miami as Lay Reader.16 Reaching the town
late in the evening, the Bishop "went to see the church by moon-
light," and found the frame up. It was expected to hold services in
the new building Christmas. The Bishop paid a touching tribute to
Miami's first resident clergyman.
"The Rev. Henry Dunlop was stationed at one of our outposts,
almost on the very frontier of our civilization. He was at Miami
[sic], with charge of the work on the whole Bay Biscayne re-
gion. He was living in a small cottage alone, and 'endured hard-
ness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.'

"On the 5th day of December, 1896, his soul went into the place
of departed spirits. His body, after a brief service at Miami,
was taken, by direction of his friend, Major Anderson, to Sa-
vannah for interment...'He being dead, yet speaketh.""7

On the 5th of May, 1897, Doctor Higgs visited Miami. He
"drafted plans for a Mission Church under direction of Mr. Brown,
architect." The following Sunday, he read Morning Prayer, preached,
and administered the Holy Communion; he held a mission service in
the afternoon, and addressed the congregation on the subject of or-
ganizing a Sunday-school. During this visitation, he baptized two
infants and administered the Holy Communion in private once; he
held two private services and made twenty-eight visits.
June 11th, Doctor Higgs was again in Miami. On Trinity Sun-
day (June 13th), he read Morning Prayer, preached, and administered
the Holy Communion. He also opened a Sunday-school. On the 13th,
he organized a Ladies' Aid Society; delivered one address; adminis-
tered the Lord's Supper once in private; and baptized three adults

52 TEQUESTA

and one infant. He likewise made arrangements for a house-boat for
Father Huntington, who had been at work in the Missionary Jurisdic-
tion, and had promised to labor in the Miami area from October,
1897, to January 30th, 1898. Doctor Higgs visited Coconut Grove,
and met some of the communicants there. He made fifteen visits at
Miami.
Doctor Higgs returned August 18th, his main object being an
endeavor to secure a building for the church at Coconut Grove,
known as the "Union Church." He made four visits and spent one
night at Coconut Grove. On August 22nd, he read Morning Prayer
and preached at Trinity Mission at 11 A.M. Afterwards he took a
steam launch, with twenty-six people, to Coconut Grove. On August
22nd, he read Morning Prayer and preached at Trinity Mission at 11
A. M. Afterwards he took a steam launch, with twenty-six people, to
Coconut Grove. There he read Evening Prayer and preached. On
that day, he went to Buena Vista (north of Miami), and made one
visit. Thence he drove to Lemon City and made a couple of visits.
In all, thirty-two visits were made by him. A choir was organized at
this trip at the Trinity Mission. Progress was quite evident in the Bay
Biscayne region."8
In the Journal of the Convocation of 1899, we find Trinity,
Miami, listed for the first time as an "organized mission." Little
River appears as a mission station, along with Coconut Grove; but
Lemon City is not mentioned.
In 1897, the Order of the Holy Cross was beginning missionary
labors in the Miami area. The headquarters of the Order were then
located at Westminster, Maryland; and the members were doing ef-
fective service in some of the out-of-the-way places of the country.
The planting which was effected in the region around Miami is now
a cherished tradition.
In the September issue of the Holy Cross Magazine of that year
it is stated that the Father Superior expects, towards the end of that
month, "to leave for three or four months' work at Biscayne Bay in
the Jurisdiction of Southern Florida. His address will be Miami, Fla."
The Father Superior was the Reverend James Otis Sargent Hunting-
ton, who was born at Boston, July 23rd, 1854, a Bachelor of Arts of
Harvard, 1875; a student of St. Andrew's Divinity School. He joined
the Order of the Holy Cross in 1884, and became the Superior of the
Order. He died June 29th, 1935.

The Episcopal Church in Miami 53

On the 12th of October, 1897, Father Huntington wrote a letter
regarding Miami, in which he said:-
"It is hard for us to realize that you are already having frosty
nights and crisp mornings and even perhaps a flurry of snow.
Frost never touches this sunny land; the lowest temperature in
the last two years was 47 degrees F. The mornings are pretty
warm but there is almost always a breeze from the sea by
afternoon. Our house-boat is really the coolest place in town.
We are anchored close to the shore, at the end of a little pier,
about five minutes' walk from the church. The boulevard runs
all along the shore and makes the walk to town easy and pleas-
ant, Looking seaward from the rear of our boat we have, first,
the broad waters of the bay, its surface ruffled with little waves
that roll up and break at our feet, then the sky-line, accentu-
ated by the low-lying 'keys,' green in the sunshine or darkened
by a passing shadow, and, lastly, above is the wide reach of
sky, with clouds constantly changing and shifting and flush-
ing with brilliant colors in the brief sunrise and sunset. To the
southeast we can see the 'inlet' where the bay gives place to
the ocean and the rippling of these lesser waves is lost in 'the
everlasting thunder of the long Atlantic swell.'

"That is the scene before us night and day, (the moonlight has
been superb, I never appreciated the force of Macaulay' s 'ivory
moonlight' before,) and, in face of it, under an awning that runs
all round the boat, we say our Offices with no human pres-
ence to distract us save for an old colored man who rows pa-
tiently up and down all day, carrying barrels of water for the
engine where they are building a dock some way north of us.

"Miami is a recent growth. Two years ago there were only two
houses here; now there are about four thousand people and vari-
ous smaller settlements up and down the cost. The town is well
laid out, the main street, really a noble avenue. There is a great
hotel, the Royal Palm, with accommodations for nearly a thou-
sand guests.

'The church here is a plain little wooden structure and needs
almost everything in the way of appointment and adornment.
Even the windows are not in yet but that is a slight deficiency
in this climate. We hope to leave the church more like a house

54 TEQUESTA

of God than we found it but that depends on what our friends
enable us to do. I have had some generous gifts in answer to
my letters. There is a splendid field for the church here, the
people seem very ready to listen and learn. We have begun to
visit them, and hope to build up many souls into the mystical
Body of our Blessed Lord. There are a good many Negroes
from the West Indies, brought up in the English Church there,
and these, too, we hope to reach.""9

On arriving in Miami, Father Huntington was accompanied by
Brother Bernard, a novice who never made his profession in the
Order of the Holy Cross. He retired from his novitiate and took
orders. His name was William Elmer Van Dyke. He was born at
Kane, Pennsylvania, December 25th, 1870, and was the son of Abram
Sterner Van Dyke and Marinda Jane Stark. He was ordered Deacon
in 1903, and ordained Priest in 1906, by Bishop Cortlandt Whitehead.
He has been since 1907 the rector of St. Luke's Church, Ismethport,
Pennsylvania, where he has been a faithful and effective priest.
November 3rd, 1897, Father Huntington and Brother Bernard
were joined by the Reverend Colin S. Bassett, also a novice, who did
not go to profession in the Order. Regarding Brother Bassett, the
following information has been supplied through the courtesy of the
Honorable Alexander B. Andrews, of Raleigh, North Carolina. Colin
Sharp Bassett was ordered Deacon, December 30th, 1894, by the
Right Reverent Charles Todd Quintard, Bishop of Tennessee; he was
organized Priest, December 28th, 1895, by the same Bishop.20 In the
1896 Living Church Annual, Colin S. Bassett is listed as residing at
Sewanee, Tennessee, and doing work among the Negroes; in 1897
and 1898, he was at Westminster, Maryland (the headquarters of the
Order of the Holy Cross). From 1899 to 1902, he was at Hoffman
Hall, Nashville, Tennessee, serving the colored people. In 1903, he
was in England; and from 1903 to 1908, the Living Church Annual
continued to list his name as "in England," though canonically con-
nected with the Diocese of Tennessee. After 1908, his name no
longer appears. The Reverend Shirley C. Hughson, of the Order of
the Holy Cross, informs the writer that Father Bassett was an En-
glishman, who, he believes, returned to England and died many years
ago.
After he returned to England, he became curate of St. Andrew
Croydon, in 1904; and remained in that position till 1906. He is listed

The Episcopal Church in Miami 55

in Crockford's Clerical Directory as Rector of Margaret Roding, in
the Diocese of Chelmsford, from 1906 through 1938. His name does
not appear in the Crockford Directory of 1940; so it may be pre-
sumed that he died by that time.
In a letter written from Miami, November 17th, 1897, Father
Huntington says:-
"Since I wrote to you last month, the 'hurricane weather,'-
frequent, sudden down-pours of rain and heavy winds, inter-
rupted by ominous calms-has given place to the clear, bright
skies of the 'dry season.' This is the first cloudy day in over
two weeks; it has settled into a steady, quiet rain, with no wind
at all. I was mistaken, in my last letter, as to the lowest tempera-
ture in two years. I find it stated that the mercury has been as
low as 34 degrees F., but we have had nothing like that yet."

Father Huntington proceeds to describe Father Bassett's ar-
rival.

"Two weeks ago today, Fr. Bassett came sailing in at the back
door of our houseboat. He arrived in Key West three weeks
ago, but tarried over Sunday as the guest of Archdeacon Higgs,
and,came up here in the Magnolia, a sailing-ship which an-
chored out in the Bay. We went out on the 'back piazza' after
service, and suddenly Brother Bernard pointed to a black-
coated figure poling towards us in a small row-boat, and a few
minutes later Fr. Bassett came aboard. He seems very well, and
has taken hold of the work to the south at Coconut Grove, trav-
eling to and fro, sometimes by sailboat, sometimes by gaso-
line launch, sometimes on land by a wheel kindly lent him by
a gentleman here. Fr. Bassett goes to Buena Vista and Lemon
City, north of here; he has several candidates preparing for
Baptism and Confirmation."

Father Huntington then tells of his work among the Negroes.
"I wrote you last month that there were some Negroes here who
had been brought up in the English Church in the West Indies.
We soon found access to them, and discovered that they are
not from the West Indies, but from the Bahama Islands, most
of them from Nassau. We have the names of over thirty who
have been confirmed and there are sixteen or seventeen desir-

56 TEQUESTA

ing Confirmation. These Bahamians were rejoiced to have us
come to the; they have had no opportunity of attending Church
or making their Communions since they came. Most of them
are young men and women; there are few families. They are
intelligent and thoroughly at home in the Church. We found a
rough 'hall' in the colored settlement and hired it for some
months; then men took hold and white-washed it and put in
benches, with room for over a hundred people, and now they
have built out a neat sacristy, with convenient arrangements
for hearing confessions. We ordered an altar from Deland-
where we had one made last year-and the people are looking
eagerly for its arrival and are preparing themselves to come with
clean hearts to the Feast next Sunday morning. Sunday eve-
nings we gather in a good many of the outsiders, and have had
congregations of seventy and eight, twothirds of the number
men."21

In his letter of December 15th, 1897, Father Huntington tells of
the arrival of the altar in time for an opening celebration of the Holy
Communion on Advent Sunday. The Negro congregation has been
placed under the patronage of St. Agnes. He and Father Bassett had
gone by sail-boat to Cutler, and had held services under the trees. He
had started going to Lemon City every Sunday evening and conduct-
ing services in an old school-house. An alter was being installed in
St. Laurence's Mission Room at Coconut Grove.
"I wrote you about our colored congregation. There were a
good many delays and disappointments as to the arrival of the
Altar. The people bore them well and seemed to grow more
earnest in their preparation. At length the Altar arrived and was
ready for the first Mass of the new year on Advent Sunday. I
hope to send you a picture of the Altar, and I am sure you will
agree with us that it is most satisfactory. There is a green dor-
sal, with wings and a bladachin above with deep red fringe. The
altar is of cypress wood, with two gradines, tabernacle and
throne, six heavy wooden candlesticks and two smaller ones
for the Eucharistic lights. The whole cost less than fifty dollars,
but it does not suggest cheapness, and quite transforms the
little chapel. We have had some very joyous services there and
the people-many of whom have good voices-are learning

The Episcopal Church in Miami 57

A. H. Brown's Missa Quinti Toni for Christmas. We have a class
of nearly twenty, most of them young men, for Confirmation.
Brother Bernard has been instruction them twice a week and
they have come very faithfully and teach one another the cat-
echism between wiles. Of course it is fair to remember that they
have had good training before they came here ... One of the
older men has a license as layreader, given him by a priest in
the island of Bimini, entitling him to minister in 'the Catholic
Church in the Bahamas.'

"The other day Fr. Bassett and I went down, by the sail-boat
that carries the mail, to Cutler, about fifteen miles to the south,
the most southerly post-office on the mainland of the U.S.A.
The town is not laid out yet, owing to a difficulty about the
legality of the grant, but that has just been removed and there
are many applicants for lots. We had announced a service and
address at the school-house three o'clock in the afternoon.
When we arrived we found the school-house not nearly large
enough for those who had assembled, so we took the benches
out and found a shady spot under the trees. It seemed like be-
ing really 'on the frontier' to stand, crucifix in hand, quite be-
yond the land of Christian places of worship, in this direction
at least. We had a fine walk back through the pine-woods in
the moonlight.

"I am going to Lemon City every Sunday evening now. It is
about five miles north. We have taken an old school house
there. It is being white-washed this week. I had about fifty
people (white) there last Sunday evening and they joined heart-
ily in the service. The principal interest in that neighborhood
is tomatoes for the north market.... We are putting an Altar in
St. Laurence's Mission Room at Coconut Grove."2Z

On January 15th, 1898, Father Huntington gave a report of the
Christmas services. Trinity Church, Miami, "was very effectively
adorned with great waving branches and feathery masses of 'palm
and pine."
"We had a nice Christmas-tree for the children of the Sunday
school and Catechism at seven o'clock Christmas Eve. The old, fa-
miliar carols rang out as gaily as though snow-flakes and sleigh bells
were keeping time outside."

58 TEQUESTA

On Christmas Eve, Father Huntington went from Trinity Church
to the colored mission of St. Agnes' to hear some confessions; and
at eleven o'clock, he had Evensong and the baptism of four men,
"This left a few minutes before the Midnight Mass. The church
was almost full (it holds about one hundred and the Service
was very bright and joyous. Certainly the colored people have
a genius for religion. Only they cannot, as a race, be measured
by the standards of our Anglo-Saxon nature, restrained, and
undemonstrative at best, and now doubly so in an age shot
through with morbid self conscience. I see more and more
plainly that the African temperament demands the expression
of Christian Faith in striking and stimulating forms. Those forms
may be either forms of subjective emotion, or of outward sym-
bolism and beauty. The first have been extensively tried and
the result has been to darken the Faith into superstition and
turn worship into a religious wallopy. It remains to try the ef-
fect of the forms of Christian symbolism and warm though dig-
nified ceremonial. This, I am sure, is what we ought to do, to
make the worship of our Afro-Americans rich with light and
music, with incense and color. It is simply absurd to say that
this much necessarily exclude clear teaching and moral train-
ing."23

Mrs. Edith Richmond of Miami had told the writer of the first
service which Father Huntington held at Cutler, and of the way in
which he moved his congregation to tears. Mrs. Turner Ashby
Winfield has also recounted her recollections of the services which
he conducted at Little River. He was the first Episcopal clergyman
to officiate there, she states. He usually held services in a small
shack which was used as a school-house near Lemon City; and he
walked from Miami. Later a church was built at Little River. Mrs.
Annie Westgaard Fickle speaks as follows of his connection with
Buena Vista:-
"I was married in 1903, and came to Miami in June of that year.
I attended services at Lemon City. Prior to my coming, the Rev-
erend James Huntington of the Order of the Holy Cross had
been holding services in Miami. He walked out as far as Lemon
City, in order to officiate. He found no place for holding such,
as the Lemon City Library was in use and could not be secured.

The Episcopal Church in Miami 59

He was walking back to Miami exhausted, when Mrs. Charles
Courly, a Roman Catholic lady who operated a boarding-house
on what is now the comer of Northeast Second Avenue and
36th Street, Buena Vista (Miami), saw him, and invited him to
hold services in his own house. Mr. Fickle lived at the foot of
36th Street, overlooking Biscayne Bay. Father Huntington ac-
cepted."

Bishop Gray reached Miami on the evening of January 30th,
1898; he was eager to see the results of Father Huntington's labors.
The next morning, assisted by Father Huntington and the Reverend
Mr. Bassett, he celebrated the Holy Eucharist in Trinity Church.
After breakfast, Father Huntington took the Bishop as far as Lemon
City, visiting candidates for confirmation on the way. At 3 P.M., that
day, the Bishop confirmed nine persons, Mrs. Julia Tuttle, who had
done so much for the Church in Miami, being one of the number. At
7:30 P. M. (January 31st), the Bishop held services in St. Agnes's
Church, "which was filled to overflowing with colored people, a
large number being unable to get inside the door." He preached, and
confirmed twenty-four. Later, a sailor, who had not been able to
reach the church in time, was brought to the Bishop's room in the
hotel, where he was confirmed.
"I must bear testimony to the faithful, self-denying, and diffi-
cult work done by Rev. Father Huntington and his co-laborers in this
very important field."
On the 15th of February, 1898, Doctor Higgs visited Miami,
spending three days, celebrating the Holy Communion and making
twenty-three visits. It was then that he secured the deed for the
Trinity Church property, from Mrs. Julia Tuttle-"Lots eight (8), nine
(9), and ten (10) of block one hundred and three N. (103N.) as
shown on the map of the City of Miami, Dade County, Florida, which
is now on record in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court in and
for Dade County, Florida; said lots comprise a tract of land one
hundred and fifty feet square, in the northwest comer of said block,
one hundred and three N. (103N.), said map is hereby referred to for
the purposed of fully identifying the lots which are above mentioned
and by the deed conveyed."
The Bishop met Doctor Higgs at Miami, May 25th, for the
purpose of settling in full the debt on the mission. Said the Bishop:
"Dr. Higgs and I went at once to work in the matter of getting all

60 TEQUESTA

accounts here squared up, and all to be in black and white. Thursday,
May 16. We were up till 2 o'clock in the morning. Solution of all
in sight by my assuming additional responsibility, which I did." Before
leaving Miami, Doctor Higgs made twenty-two visits.
He was back in Miami August 3rd; and during that stay, he
made twenty-one visits to members of the missions. He spent several
hours in the hospital tents, visiting the sick; and effected a final
settlement of all the indebtedness of Trinity Mission. He also visited
St. Agnes's Mission for the Negro population, and arranged a room
and board for two or three weeks for the Reverend S. Kerr, of Key
West, who had promised to give the colored people services during
his stay. Mr. Kerr visited the mission at the request of the Bishop,
who saw that, failing in health, he needed a change. On November
4th, Doctor Higgs visited Miami again, and made seven visits.
He was himself a busy man. Key West was the base of supplies
and the nearest point to Cuba during the Spanish-American War; and
many of the dead and wounded were brought there. Doctor Higgs
held pre-burial services during 1898 over the remains of Ensign
Worth Bagley; he buried the remains of some of the seamen killed
on the Maine, and of all the seamen killed on the torpedo boat
Winslow. He buried several other soldiers and sailors, and ministered
to the vessels in port. He was active in hospital work.24
The Reverend Robert M. W. Black and his family spent at least
part of the winter of 1898-1899 in Miami; but they were not able to
stay. When Bishop Gray visited the town, February 3rd, 1899, he
noticed that Mr. Black and his family gave him "a warm welcome
to the new Rectory;" and he expressed pleasure at what he learned
concerning the work there and in the surrounding places. On Febru-
ary 5th, the Bishop and Mr. Black held services at Trinity Church.
That afternoon, they were at Coconut Grove where the Reverend
Mr. Black baptized one person, and where Bishop Gray preached in
the Methodist church and confirmed two. At 7:30 P.M. that day-
Septuagesima-assisted by Mr. Black, the Bishop held services in
the new church at Little River. There he preached.
It was found necessary to move St. Agnes's Church for the
colored people to a different part of Miami. On Tuesday, February
7th, the Bishop celebrated Holy Communion at St. Agnes's; and
afterwards he and Mr. Black went on bicycles to visit the Church
people at Buena Vista. The next day, accompanied by Mr. Black and
Mr. Morse," a real estate agent, the Bishop examined various sites,

The Episcopal Church in Miami 61

and selected one for the new St. Agnes's Church and, possibly, the
rectory. "Mr. (Henry Morrison) Flagler will give deed to the lots
when the church is erected."26
Mrs. Winfield has told the writer some of the circumstances
connected with the building of the Little River Church. On Bishop
Gray's visit to Miami, she says, a messenger was sent out to Mrs.
Winfield, who stated that the Bishop was charmed to know that a
church was in process of construction; and he wondered whether the
building was in sufficient readiness for services. Mrs. Winfield re-
plied with an invitation: "Come right along! We'll be ready." She
promptly called her husband and he secured a carpenter. Mr. Winfield,
Mr. Edward De Vere Burr, and a carpenter went to the church that
afternoon and built seats with a little back to them. Under these
conditions, the Bishop conducted his first Little River service. Lights
were secured from private individuals.
In June or July, 1899, the Reverend Nathaniel Barnwell Fuller
took charge of the Miami work. His ministrations were by no means
confined to the Trinity Mission, but included the missions both north
and south of Miami and St. Agnes's Mission for the colored popu-
lation. Mr. Fuller was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1823, and
came to Miami from Monticello, Florida. During his stay in Miami
there was a yellow fever epidemic, in which he was faithful to his
duties. He was very much beloved; and doubtless much of the progress
of the Church's work in the vicinity was due to his devoted and
consecrated efforts and industry. He died January 10th, 1910, in
Caldwell, Texas, whither he had gone for his health. He is buried in
Dallas.
Miss Bessie Fuller, the daughter of the Reverend Mr. Fuller,
has given the following description and account of Trinity Church at
the time of her father's arrival, and of some of the circumstances
which she recalls from personal experience and observation.
"When my father came to Miami in July, 1899, to take charge of
Trinity Church, the church building, which was then situated
on the corner of old Avenue B and 10th Street (now Northeast
2nd Avneue and 2nd Street), was very small.
"The altar was a wooden frame covered with red cheesecloth,
as were the other hangings; and the windows were covered with
the same material and of the same color. The young men would
ask each other where they were going to church; and they

62 TEQUESTA

would reply, 'We are going to the Church of the Holy Cheese-
cloth.' The cheesecloth altar was soon replaced by a very pretty
altar, given by Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Garthside; and the
windows replaced by regular glass windows.

"The choir was in one corner of the chancels, and was entirely
a volunteer choir. One Sunday we had services, and only two
members of the choir appeared. So my father decided to have
a vested choir. To do this, we had to enlarge the chancels, to
make room for the choir-stalls. He started out to raise the money
for it. He met Mr. Henry Wells, a pickle man, and told him his
trouble; and Mr. Wells gave him a cheque for the work. After
the stalls were put in, they took in so much of the body of the
church that there was no room for the congregation. So out went
my father again, to see what he could do to raise funds. With
contributions and with the help of the women, he was able to
extend the building towards the Avenue, to twice its size.

"About that time a Mrs. Emma B. Mallon, from Philadelphia,
came down for the winter; and was very critical because we
only had one set of hangings. My father told her that we were
very glad to have even that one set. So, when she went home,
she had a beautiful full set made and sent down. Then the ques-
tion arose, 'Where are we to keep them?' My father's study
was a tiny room on the right of the chancels, containing his
desk, chair, table, and books. His solution, which we all thought
was a bright one, was to buy a long steamer trunk, in which the
hangings were carefully packed in tissue paper; and the trunk
was placed under his desk. The next winter, when Mrs. Mallon
arrived Lent, she attended services on Sunday. Concerned over
the care of the hangings and feeling that the trunk was inad-
equate and inappropriate, she had a chest of drawers made for
the same. This chest took up so much room in my father's
study, that if more than one person came to see him at a time,
he either had to see his visitors in the church or have them
brought in one by one. At length, with the help of the women,
the vestry, and outside contributors, my father was enabled
once more to enlarge the church. This time he built the large
room at the front and right of the church, to accommodate the
chest of drawers. It was also used as a guild and choir room.

The Episcopal Church in Miami 63

"This building remained until after my father' s death (1910), and
until the Reverend James Cope, his successor, built a new rec-
tory on one side of the little church, facing the Avenue, and
the big stone church on the other side on the corner. To get the
original church out from between the two buildings, it was cut
in half and carried over to the colored section of Miami, where
it was put up as a rectory for St. Agnes's Church.

"Although, during my father's rectorship in Miami, he did not
have the luxuries and conveniences of the present day-hav-
ing to do his visiting from Little River to as far south as Cutler,
on bicycle and with horse and buggy, over rocks and palmetto
roots, still I like to think that when he passed over to the other
side, he was received by the words, 'Well done, thou good and
faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."'

Bishop Gray visited the new priest-in-charge of Trinity Church,
Miami, on Septuagesima, February 11th, 1900. After preach-
ing and celebrating Holy Communion, he drove with Mr. Fuller
to Coconut Grove, where they had afternoon service in the Con-
gregational church. That evening they were at St. Agnes's
Church, Miami. Next day, the 12th, they had "a hard trip to
Ojus to look up some Church families there;" and at night,
assisted by Mr. Fuller, the Bishop held services in the church
at Little River. After the service, the mother and four of the
children whom he had baptized in the wilderness years before
presented themselves; they had come some miles to be present
at the service, and would not leave the church till they had
shaken hands with the Bishop.

On the 13th of February, the Bishop held his first service at
Cutler, after a "trying trip.. .in a sailboat."

"Adverse winds hindered us and at last we ran around. Toil-
ing, struggling and shouting for help quite used me up, and
indeed for some days I was without any voice at all."

The Bishop laid the cornerstone of St. Agnes's Church on
February 14th. This privilege had been reserved for him, even
though the church had been built and, with that exception,
completed. "Addresses by Mr. Hanna, a lay reader, Rev. Fuller
and myself. A goodly number of black people were present.

64 TEQUESTA

Mrs. Colt, of Hartford, drove out from the Royal Palm to wit-
ness the ceremony."

May 19th Bishop Gray was back in Miami for the consecra-
tion of St. Agnes's Church,

"Saturday, 19. Miami. Spent a restful day in the rectory, not-
withstanding heat and mosquitoes. Received a large bundle of
letters.

"Fifth Sunday after Easter, May 20. A red letter day for the
church at Miami. Rev. Fuller accompanied me to the church of
St. Agnes, where a large congregation of colored people, with
a few white people, were assembled. Every seat was occupied,
some having to stand or go away. I consecrated the church.
Rev. Fuller baptized a colored man and I confirmed a class of
nine-six males and three females. At night in Trinity church,
Rev. Fuller took most of the service. I preached and confirmed
a class of five men and four women. This church has been much
improved as to the interior. Very hot today and mosquitoes
almost unbearable."27

Chancellor Louis C. Massey reported to the 1902 Convocation
the conveyance of the Church property at Little River Mission to the
Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida. The Committee on Fi-
nance and Assessments at that time recommended that the Coconut
Grove Mission be assessed $2.40, Trinity, Miami, $12.00, and Little
River $3.60.
On the 24th of February, the Bishop and Mr. Fuller, with a two-
hose team, drove to Coconut Grove, and held service in the Congre-
gational place of worship. Afterwards they called on the colored lay
reader.
June 8th, the Bishop was back in Miami. The next day was a
very busy one-"going over important matters with Rev. Fuller in
regard to Church work in Miami, Cutler, Coconut Grove, etc."
"Together, we have done three days' work in one day. Dined
and took tea at the rectory-a delightful oasis."
Another visit was made by the Bishop September 24th. Then he
had an interview with the Lay Reader in charge of St. Agnes's Church,
and held a night service at Coconut Grove. He found that the Ne-

The Episcopal Church in Miami 65

groes there had built a church for themselves. He was much pleased
with the good, hearty service, in which Mr. Fuller assisted.28
In 1903, the Reverend Dwight Frederick Cameron was placed
in charge of the missions about Miami. He was born at Geneva,
Switzerland, January 2nd, 1875, and received his education at Cornell
University and at the University of the South. Bishop Gray ordered
him to the Diaconate at DeLand December 13th, 1903.
On the 28th of February, 1904, Bishop Gray visited Miami. He
was gratified at new improvements in Trinity Church. "It has been
made half as large again as it was, with a large Guild room attached,
which also answers the purpose of a choir room." That afternoon he
and the Reverend Mr. Fuller had at St. Agnes's Church "a very
hearty service, the Negroes responding well and singing with heart
and soul in their voices."
"I confirmed six in the Church and then walked a few blocks
to where one is dying with consumption and confirmed her in her
cabin ."
Next day the Bishop drove with Messers, Fuller, and Cameron
to Cutler. After a service in the school-house there, they drove back
as far as Coconut Grove, where a service was held for the colored
congregation. On Tuesday night, March 1st, the three clergymen
drove to Little River and held a service. "The church there has been
destroyed by a recent hurricane, and we held the service in a hotel.
I preached. Gave the offering towards the new church."
The Reverend Smith, a coloreti clergyman, was in charge of St.
Agnes's Church in 1901; and when Bishop Gray visited Miami the
latter part of March, he called on Mr. Smith, and was much pleased
with his work among the people of his race. On the 24th of March,
some twenty-five Negroes received at an early celebration at St.
Agnes's. On the night of the 25th, the Bishop and Mr. Fuller held
services at Little River. The Bishop preached and confirmed three
persons. The "good congregation present' included the whole family
which the Bishop had baptized years before in the wilderness. The
next day there was an interview with a man from Little River, who
felt that good work could be done there. The Bishop was driven by
Mr. Fuller to Coconut Grove where he preached to a small congre-
gation. On Wednesday, the 17th, the two were driven eighteen miles
to Cutler, over rough roads. They held services in a schoolroom.
Then the Bishop learned that Father Huntington had held the first
Episcopal service in that place.

66 TEQUESTA

It was soon evident that the Negro population of Coconut Grove
would need a church of their own. When Bishop Gray visited Miami
December 20th, 1901, he rode with the Reverend Mr. Smith to in-
spect the lot which the colored people wished to secure. The follow-
ing day-St. Thomas'-Mr. Smith, who had been in Deacon's or-
ders, was advanced to the Priesthood. December 22nd, the Fourth
Sunday in Advent, the Bishop preached at Trinity, and celebrated the
Holy Communion. That afternoon he confirmed six. Afterwards he
and Mr. Fuller drove to Little River and ministered to a large congre-
gation, "men being largely in the majority.""29
On September 11th, 1902, the Bishop received the resignation
of the Reverend Mr. Smith, of St. Agnes's Church.30 Cutler was by
1902 listed among the mission stations of the Missionary Jurisdic-
tion. When the Bishop visited Cutler (February 24th, 1903), Doctor
Samuel Howard Richmond showed him the proposed lot for a church
there.3 The lot was given by the Model Land Company; no church
was ever built.
By this time, great improvement had been made under the Rev-
erend Mr. Fuller. The Bishop found (February 22nd, 1903), a vested
choir at Trinity, with a tent for the vestry room, That night, "not
nearly all the congregation could get in Trinity... The church must be
enlarged to keep up with the steady improvement going on here,"
On Trinity Sunday, May 29th, 1904, the Bishop ordained Mr.
Cameron to the Priesthood at St. Luke's Cathedral, Orlando, at the
same service at which he ordained his own son, Campbell Gray, to
the Deaconate. The day before he had received notification of the
completion of the requirements necessary for the organization of
Trinity Church, Miami, into a regular self-supporting parish.
The little handful of communicants at Little River determined
not to give up. The frame structure had been destroyed by a storm,
but the resolution to conquer was admirable. On the 15th of August,
Bishop Gray arrived in the village, and was the guest of Misses
Mamie and Cenie Douthit at the hotel. Visiting the site of the new
church, he found the lumber already on the ground to rebuild the
church. That afternoon he drove to Biscayne, where he baptized
three more children in the family where he had baptized six years
ago when passing through the country with a mule team, before the
days of the railway.
"So many persons were present today I considered it a public
service. The eldest daughter, now married, was one of the spon-

The Episcopal Church in Miami 67

sors; and Mr. Peden, a sponsor at the first occasion, and now
again is father of the youngest child, having upon the death of
the first husband married the widow."32

The church at Little River was located north of 79th Street and
Northeast Second Avenue, a few feet east of the Avenue and close
to the present location of the Little River Bank and Trust Company.
Its members were few but loyal and earnest; unfortunately, however,
the village made slow progress in those days. Buena Vista, which lay
about half-way between Little River and Miami, showed more prom-
ising signs of growth and was attracting several family of more
substantial resources.
In 1905 the Reverend Mr. Cameron moved to West Palm Beach;
and early in 1906, the Reverend George Bernard Clarke, formerly of
Bethel, Vermont, was put in charge of the mission work close to
Miami. Mr. Clarke was in bad health when he moved to Florida he
was keenly interest in his labors and did a great deal towards build-
ing up the Church along the Florida East Coast extension. Having
contacts with a number of people in the North he was successful in
soliciting funds and obtaining gifts for his missions.
On the 13th of February, 1906, Bishop Gray met Mr. Clarke at
Dania and the two clergymen went to inspect a lot which had been
proposed for church. The Bishop accepted the same; and plans were
made for the building of a church that year. The donor of the lot was
a Lutheran; and most of the residents of the town were Lutherans,
but they were favorably disposed towards the Episcopal Church. On
that day, Bishop Gray preached and baptized a young lady, and
confirmed three persons.
"A deep impression seems to have been made. Ours will be the
first church in the town."
On August 7th, Bishop Gray was again in Dania. He spent all
the morning going over the lots, fixing the corners, and deciding the
exact location of the new church, 'which will be the first building for
religious worship of any kind in Dania." He had interviews with a
resident carpenter and builder. "A trying strain on my powers of
endurance." On October 2nd, the Bishop noted in his diary that he
was "disappointed as to church at Dania. High bids change plans for
a stone made church." November 10th, the Bishop made another
visit to Dania. "It seems impossible to get workmen to go on with the
building," he said. During the next year the Bishop struggled inwardly

68 TEQUESTA

over the slow progress; but in 1908, St. John's Church, Dania, be-
came a realization.
The Reverend Mr. Clarke ministered to Coconut Grove, and in
time extended his work to Naranja. He lived in Buena Vista. The
name "St. Andrew's" had been given to the church at Little River;
and occurs in the 1907 Convocation Journal. Previously, the work
there had been designated as the Little River mission. The congre-
gation of St. Andrew's had suffered serious backsets; but early in
1906, there seems to have been no thought on the part of the mem-
bers that their mission would be abandoned or superseded. On March
6th, 1906, Bishop Gray and Mr. Clarke held an evening service in the
church. The Bishop noted that Mr. Clarke was trying hard to raise
money enough to build a house near the Church "so that he may
have a roof over his head in connection with his missionary work."
"I bade him 'God speed,' a devoted the offering toward that
object."

On March 7th, the Bishop and Mrs. Clarke filled an appoint-
ment at Coconut Grove. They were guests at "The Camp." There
were present "a goodly number" at the Congregational place of wor-
ship; and the Bishop preached to "a very attentive congregation."
That evening, the Bishop walked over to Christ Church, and preached
to the colored people, confirming four. The Reverend H. A. Parris
was priest-in-charge of Christ Church, Coconut Grove.
On March 8th, the Bishop and Mr. Clarke took the train for
Perrine. There they were met by a vehicle, and carried through the
country to Cutler.
"Visited some sick in the afternoon. We are guests of Mrs.
Fuzzard, a very beautiful spot, where there are thousands of coconut
trees and several beautiful Royal Palms, beyond anything I have
known in Florida."
That evening, services were held in the school-house; and the
Bishop "preached to a fair congregation for this badly diminishing
community."
The first record of a service of the Church at Homestead is
March 9th, 1906. It was held by the Reverend Mr. Clarke; and is
mentioned in the Bishop's diary.
"Friday, 9th. A long drive to reach the railway station (from
Cutler); a fine, bright morning, however, with bracing air. Reached
Perrine in ample time for south-bound train. Reached Homestead,
the extreme limit of railway at present. Found the service arranged
for night and five miles further on. Sent Rev. Clarke on by wagon
to held the service, as it was quite impossible for me to go and get
back in time to meet my other appointments. Took the return train
for Miami where I spent the night."
On Bishop Gray's next visit to Miami, November 11 lth, 1906, he
found a large congregation awaiting him in Trinity Church. In his
sermon he alluded to a hurricane which had recently produced great
consternation; and he urged the people to show their thankfulness for
their narrow escape, by erecting a stone church as a thank-offering.
That evening, in St. Agnes's Church, he was met by an overflowing
congregation, "all standing room being occupied, and even outside
the doors and windows." The Reverent Mr. Parris said the service;
and the Bishop confirmed nine persons. "The apsidal chancels is a
great improvement," he said; "and the windows are handsome."
In the recent storm the Little River Church had sustained dam-
age. It had been blown off its foundations; a hole was dug into the

70 TEQUESTA

The first black Episcopal Church in Miami, Saint Agnes' Church. (Photo from
Semi-Centennial Celebration, Saint Agnes' Church 1948.)

flooring and the roof had escaped injury. On November 12th, the
Bishop drove with Mr. Clarke to Little River. There they called on
several people, and went to the church. "I examined it carefully,"
said the Bishop; "the more so, as many think that now is the time to
move to another location." The Bishop decided to put the building
back on its foundations, "as means for securing another lot and
moving the Church are not in sight" 33
Mrs. Annie Westgaard Fickle and Mrs. Gertrude Westgaard
Reid, original members of the Buena Vista congregation, have given
the writer accounts of the beginning of the mission which was planted
at Buena Vista and evolved into the Church of the Holy Cross,
Miami. The writer has talked to several pioneer residents of Buena
Vista, Lemon City, and Little River; and has found complete agree-
ment regarding the circumstances. The Reverend Mr. Clarke was
impressed with the need of a church in the growing community of
Buena Vista; it had doubtless been suggested to him that such a
project would prove feasible. Certainly the winter of 1906-1907 found
him and the little group at Buena Vista busy with their plans. Mrs.
Reid has furnished the following account:

The Episcopal Church in Miami 71

"The founder of Holy Cross Church was the Reverend George
Bernard Clarke, an elderly retired clergyman who came here in
1906 for his health. He saw the need of a church in the growing
community, and set to work to supply that need. Mr. Clarke
was the best solicitor for money I have ever known. He knew
many wealthy people in various parishes where he had served;
so he began writing them about the need of a church here. We
lived just west of where the church now stands; and every
morning we would look eagerly down the road, right after the
morning train came through. If we saw Mr. Clarke almost run-
ning from the Post Office, brandishing aloft a letter, we knew
he had received a cheque in answer to one of his letters. He
always came straight to us, so that we might rejoice with him.

"The lot, which cost $250,000 was bought with the first money
collected. He consulted with my father, Peter Hansen
Westgaard (a native of Norway), who drew the plans, super-
intended the building, and did much of the work. If we had the
names of all the donors to our building fund, the list would seem
like a page from the Social Register. Miss Gladys Vanderbilt
sent $75.00 which was used for the altar and alter rail. (The lat-
ter is still in use.) Among the contributors were the Cluetts, the

Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross, May 1935. (HASF 1989-04-3031)

72 TEQUESTA

Phillips of Philadelphia, and various members of the Vanderbilt
family.

"Mr. Clarke received missionary boxes and barrels; and, as he
was a bachelor, a miniature rummage sale was held after the
arrival of each of these. This, however, was not a particularly
lucrative source of income, as the boxes were usually filled with
heavy winter suits, winter underwear, and overcoats not par-
ticularly salable here. The little wing which served as the ves-
try was completed first; and Mr. Clarke moved in it to live, do-
ing his cooking over an open fire outdoors. He had a standing
invitation to eat with us in rainy weather. Finally the church
was built, and presented to the community free of debt. The
first service was held in April, 1907, on a Wednesday afternoon."

Mrs. Fickle adds that this service was held "in an unfinished
building, there being no windows." She states that, while the church
at Buena Vista was under construction, her husband, Robert Bradley
Fickle, suggested to Mr. Clarke that it should be named "Holy Cross,"
since Father James Huntington, a member of the Order of the Holy
Cross, had held the first Episcopal service ever conducted in Buena
Vista. These services had been conducted, by the way, in Mr. Fickle's
house, prior to her marriage. Mr. Clarke approved the suggestion and
adopted it.
The writer, as rector of the Church of the Holy Cross, has in his
custody the register which Mr. Clarke kept-a register which in-
cludes Dania, Arch Creek, Little River, Lemon City, Buena Vista,
Redland, Naranja and Homestead. There are entries of ministerial
functions performed by him at Hallandale and Fort Lauderdale. The
first burial recorded by Mr. Clarke at Buena Vista was that of the
patron and architect of the new church, Peter Hansen Westbaard
(March 8th, 1907); the first marriage in the new church was that of
Fred R. Owens and Catherine L. Carroll (September 23rd, 1907).
On March 20, 1907, Bishop Gray and Mrs. Clarke visited Little
River. That evening they had what the Bishop described as "a fairly
good congregation in St. Andrew's Church." One person was con-
firmed. The next day the Bishop, with a group, drove to Buena Vista.
The following comment appears in his dairy:
"I am much delighted with the good work done by Rev. Mr.
Clarke in this town. Thus Church of the Holy Cross, which has been

The Episcopal Church in Miami 73

erected there as the result of tremendous correspondence and un-
usual interest even in this new settlement. Had a suitable opening
service of this new church, which is not yet ready for consecration
and delivered an address of congratulation and said also some words
in regard to the good man (Mr. Westgaard) who constructed this
chapel, but died before it was quite ready to be opened. Four of his
daughters were present. A Guild has been organized an is actively
at work. A forward movement seems assured."
The beginning of definite work at Buena Vista was not de-
signed to supersede the mission at Little River, but simply to provide
services for a progressive community. The Journal of the 1908 Con-
vocation lists St. Andrew's, Little River, as an organized mission,
which the name of Buena Vista church does not even appear. Neither
Bishop Gray nor Mr. Clarke had any intention of abandoning the
work which had been started and carried on several years, under
great difficulties, at the more northern point. Mrs. Winfield always
an active spirit in the Little River Church, states that Mr. Clarke
assured her that he would never consent to that church's removal so
long as she lived. After the erection of the church at Buena Vista,
services were conducted for some time at Little River; but at last
they were discontinued, and the building was demolished. It is deeply
to be regretted that a beginning which involved much sacrifice and
effort should have been abandoned; and all honor is due to the faith-
ful handful of loyal men and women who kept the church alive for
several years.
Bishop Gray visited Little River March 12th, 1910, and
preached.34 It was not until March 23rd, 1912-five years after the
opening of the church at Buena Vista-that he noted in his diary that
the efforts to keep the mission going seemed inexpedient.
"Saturday, March 23, Went up to Little River. I fear we can do
nothing more at this point, and may have to let the building go before
it rots down."35
On the 15th of March, 1907, Bishop Gray visited the "Pine
Knot Camp" at Coconut Grove-the Adirondac-Coconut Grove school
for boys. He attended some of the recitations and became acquainted
with that "fine lot of boys." On Sunday, the 17th, he had services in
the morning for the colored people at Christ Church; at four o'clock
in the afternoon he and the Reverent Mr. Clarke had "a fairly good
congregation" of whites in the Congregation place of worship. The
next day he and Mr. Clarke took the early train for Homestead.

74 TEQUESTA

"It is marvelous how this new country is settling up among the
widespread and prevailing coral rocks. At night, in the school-
house some three miles further on, fully 100 men, women and
children had assembled. We had evening service. I preached
and confirmed one person. A reception was held afterwards
and the Bishop was enabled to meet all these people, who had
come from miles around. It was nearly midnight when we got
back.

'Tuesday, 19th. At 8:45 A.M. at Mr. Baur's house I confirmed
his wife, who was not well enough to come out the night be-
fore, and immediately after proceeded with the service of Holy
Communion, quite a goodly number receiving."

Two years later the Bishop again visited Homestead in com-
pany with Mr. Clarke. From there they went to the Redlands
neighborhood and held a service in the school-house with a
congregation of some hundred people. April 1st they went on
to Knight's Key. There an evening service had been arranged
in the open air. Thus Bishop Gray describes it:

"With a barrel to hold lanterns for me to see by, I put on my
vestments and took my place, some hundreds of the workmen
on the new railroad sitting on the verandah and steps of the
camp dining room before me. I raised the tunes, and we were
singing 'Holy, Holy, Holy,' when a heavy shower drove us into
one of the large rooms, where I continued the service and
preached. I had profound attention from them all. At night an
extra cot was put in the steward's room for me, where I had a
good night's rest."36

The Reverend Mr. Fuller, the beloved rector of Trinity Church,
Miami, passed away January 10th, 1910. The Committee on Memo-
rials paid tribute to "his Christian character and fidelity to his mission
as a Priest in the Church of Christ." When Bishop Gray visited the
Miami section, in March of that year, he was concerned over the
problem of securing a new rector for the parish. For a short time, the
Reverend Mr. Clarke was the only white clergyman at work in Miami
and vicinity.
In September, 1910, the Bishop proposed that Doctor Jackson,
who was doing missionary work in Jupiter and that neighborhood,

The Episcopal Church in Miami 75

Ine nrst HouseKeepers' tIuD, now tme Coconut Grove Women's Club. (HASt
1982-111-3)
move to Coconut Grove and take charge of the field there. Charles
Percival Jackson was born in Portville, New York, December 21st,
1854; and graduated from the medical department of the University
of Pennsylvania in 1879. He moved to Coconut Grove, as the Bishop
had suggested; and assumed the work among both races. It was in
October, 1910, that Doctor Jackson arrived in Coconut Grove. In the
absence of a church building, he held services during his first year
in the Housekeepers' Club building on Biscayne Bay (its present
site). There he continued to minister till the church was built. Bishop
Gray had told the colored congregation of Coconut Grove that they
should erect a new church of stone, and should respond to the best
of their ability to his efforts.
Bishop Gray visited Coconut Grove on the 22nd of February,
1911; the following day he and Doctor Jackson began the quest of
a suitable lot on which to building a church for the white congrega-
tion. At 3:30 P. M. that day the Bishop laid the cornerstone of the
new Trinity Church in Miami. The Reverend Mr. Fuller had passed
away after some eleven years of faithful service; and he was fol-
lowed by the Reverend Janes Cope. Both the Bishop and Mr. Cope
made addresses at the laying of the stone.

76 TEQUESTA

On the 6th of April, 1911, Bishop Gray and the Reverend Mr.
Clarke took the train from Miami south to Princeton. After supper
with Mr. and Mrs. Murray, they held a service at the school-house.
After preaching to a very attentive congregation and confirming two
persons, the Bishop went with Mr. Clarke to Naranja. There they
were the guests of the Barcus family. At six o'clock the next morn-
ing, Holy Communion was celebrated in that household; and young
Mr. and Miss Barcus, who had been confirmed the night before in
Princeton, made their first communion with their mother.
After breakfast, the Bishop and Mr. Clarke "found some diffi-
culty in getting across to Redland."
"The first horse soon cast his shoe, and as he could not proceed
over the rocky road, we had to return and try again. We searched
around and at last found a man and team, who succeeded in getting
us to the church before sundown. We had our supper with Mr. and
Mrs. Bauer, and at 7:30 had a very fair congregation for this busy
time, when all are working hard shipping vegetables."
Next day, April 8th, the Bishop stopped at Coconut Grove, and
further examined the proposed site for the church. He had an impor-
tant interview with Mr. John Strong about a lot there, and felt that
he had settled the matter to his great relief. The night was spent in
"the new beautiful rectory" at Miami, where Mr. and Mrs. Cope
gave the Bishop a warm welcome."
On the 22nd of March, 1912, the Bishop and Mr. Clarke went
to Fort Lauderdale and "looked all around at possible church lots.
Nothing definite was accomplished." Two days later the Bishop held
services at Trinity Church, Miami, at Christ Church, Coconut Grove,
and at St. Agnes's Church, Miami. The name of "St. Stephen's" had
been applied to the white congregation at Coconut Grove; and, under
Doctor Jackson, there was a strong desire to go ahead. On the 25th
of March, Doctor Jackson and the Bishop agreed to exchange the lot
formerly selected for the church and located the building on a new
one. Tuesday evening, March 26th, the Bishop held services at Buena
Vista before a large congregation.
"Many came in to see me, among them a young man whom I
had baptized in the country nineteen years ago and confirmed a few
years ago. He came five miles to be present tonight."
On March 28th the Bishop visited Homestead, arriving in time
to hold evening service and meet the people. Next day he found a
good congregation at Naranja, "at the little new church, the only one

The Episcopal Church in Miami 77

of any kind there." He had a good service, preached, and confirmed
one person. After returning to Homestead, and holding services in
the school-house, the Bishop took his first trip over the completed
Florida East Coast Railway-the overseas extension.
"As the train glided through the air and over the water, the long
line of curving waves circling around the rock columns gave forth
beautiful reflections of the sun setting in glory. I leaned out of the
window, thoroughly enjoying our flight between the waters, Gulf and
ocean below, and the arched skies above."
The cornerstone of St. Stephen's Church, Coconut Grove, was
laid on St. Barnabas's day, June 11th, 1912, on the present site of the
church. Indeed the building now in use is an enlargement of the
original structure. The first services in St. Stephen's were held shortly
after the church was in sufficient readiness.
The Reverend Mr. Clarke died July 30th, 1912. In his annual
address to the Twenty-first Convocation, Bishop Gray commended
his services.
"One of our missionary clergy, who did good work and, indeed,
opened up a number of new stations on the Florida East Coast rail-
road extension, and saw to the building of several churches, living,
and working on a very small income here, as he had done for many
years in the Northwest, was called away in July, and taken to his old
home in Massachusetts for burial. 'He rests from his labors, and his
works do follow him."'
Besides being the founder of the Church of the Holy Cross,
Miami, the Reverend Mr. Clarke planted the Dania mission, which
has survived and developed as St. John's Church, Hollywood. The
church at Redland was built under his supervision.
On the 28th of August, 1912, Bishop Gray was in Coconut
Grove, where he "walked a mile in the hot sun to see the stone
church the Negroes have been building. Then he walked another mile
to the new St., Stephen's Church, for white people, both in charge
of Dr. Jackson." That evening, in Miami, he conferred with the
Reverend Mr. Cope regarding the status of the missions formerly
under the Reverend Mr. Clarke.
In the fall of 1912, the Reverend John Partridge took charge of
Holy Cross, at Buena Vista and remained till May 12th, 1913. He
was born in England, April 5th, 1854, and had spent his early ministry
in Canada and Nova Scotia. For some time he was rector of St.
John's Church, Petaluma, California.

78 TEQUESTA

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Coconut Grove (HASF 1975-81-2)

At 10:30 A.M., January 26th, 1913 (Sexagesima), Bishop Gray
consecrated the new St. Stephen's Church, at Coconut Grove. At
the front door he received the keys, which later he laid on the altar;
he preached and celebrated the Holy Communion.8
Less than a month later, the Bishop was back in the Miami
area. At 7:30 P.M., February 20th, he preached and confirmed four
in St. Stephen's Church, Coconut Grove. Next day, he and Doctor
Jackson went to Pine Knot Camp, where they were warmly wel-
comed by Miss Ransom. The clergymen, the principal, the teachers,
and the students had dinner together; and the Bishop addressed the
boys. On the 22nd, he confirmed privately some members of Doctor
Jackson's class who had been prevented by sickness from appearing
at church.
"Third Sunday in Lent, February 23d. Received Holy Commun-
ion at Trinity Church, Miami, Rev. Mr. Partridge celebrant. At 10:30
A.M. the church was well filled. I said morning prayer, preached,
confirmed a class and addressed them. After a hurried meal went by
auto all the way to Fort Lauderdale. Rev. Mr. Partridge assisted me
in evening prayer. I preached, confirmed a class and addressed them.
Gave the offering to the ladies toward getting a lot for a church
there. Came back to Dania, where the Hardee family gave us a good
supper, and at 7:30 we had evening prayer. I preached and con-
firmed a class and addressed them. We then came back to Miami
in auto to rectory, arriving at 11 P.M., a full, strenuous day."

The Episcopal Church in Miami 79

The next day the Bishop and the Reverend Mr. Partridge went
to Hallandale, where they held services in the Union Chapel. There
was one confirmation. "The work now begun at Hallandale seems
very promising." On the 25th, the Bishop and the Reverend Messrs.
Cope and Partridge drove by automobile to Naranja. The Bishop
preached and confirmed a class. The following day the three clergy-
men started for Redland, where they had Evening Prayer with a
small congregation, and spent the night. On the 27th they went to
Homestead for service, sermon, confirmation, and address. "It proved
a rather trying trip." On the night of the 28th, there was a splendid
congregation at Buena Vista.
On the 24th of November, 1913, the Bishop visited the new
Christ Church for Negroes in Coconut Grove. "It is of stone and Dr.
Jackson has been most successful in having it built." The service
was choral. The Bishop confirmed nine at the church; and "at the
close of the service went vested to a private house and confirmed
three more who had whooping cough, and could not come to the
church."
"This has been a very satisfactory visit and I am especially
thankful to have had one service in the new stone church."
Next day, the Bishop confirmed a young girl in St. Stephen's
Church. After this he went with Doctor Jackson to St. Agnes's
Church in Miami which he found "crowded to its utmost capacity."
Twenty-two were confirmed. The Bishop spent the night as the
guest of Mr. Cope and his wife at the Trinity rectory. He left the
next morning for Orlando.39
This was Bishop Gray's last visitation. On the 14th of January,
1914, that venerable servant of God read his resignation to the Con-
vocation. He had spent twenty-one years in the Episcopates and nearly
fifty-five in the sacred ministry and he was in the seventy-ninth year
of his life. When it is realized that the energy expended by him in the
vicinity of Miami was typical of the expenditure of force which
characterized his activities throughout the whole Missionary Juris-
diction, it is recognized that he was a man of most unusual resources
and perseverance.
Prior to Bishop Gray's episcopates, there had been no ministra-
tions of the Episcopal Church in that long stretch of land now com-
prehended in Broward and Dade counties. When the good Bishop
resigned, there were no fewer than one vigorous parish and five
organized missions and three unorganized missions in Dade county

80 TEQUESTA

e~tI. ,3
at.

Members of Christ Church Episcopal parade in Coconut Grove. (Photo courtesy
of Arva Moore Parks)

alone. A little later, Homestead, under Doctor Jackson, formerly of
Coconut Grove, was added to the list of active missions.
Doctor Jackson resigned his work at St. Stephen's, Coconut
Grove, in January, 1916, and moved to Homestead. There was no
mission in that town on his arrival. The church which had been built
at Redland under the Reverend Mr. Clarke was used for services;
later it was sold to the Lutherans. Afterwards it was destroyed by
a hurricane.
Doctor Jackson's services at Homestead were held first in the
school auditorium; then in the Wonderland Theater (since destroyed
by fire). A church building was begun in the fall of 1916, and the first
services conducted in the new building were on Christmas Eve, the
same year. The new church was situated about one block west of
the present location; when the highway was projected through the
church property, the building was moved to the site which it now
occupies. The County of Dade bought the right of way and moved
the church building at its own expense. In addition to holding services
at Homestead and Redland, Doctor Jackson also visited the village
of Princeton a few miles north.
Here we may leave our narrative. We have watched the rapid
development of a great work-a work which had the smallest of

The Episcopal Church in Miami 81

beginnings. Many were the backsets; and many were the heartaches,
the anxieties, and the hours of discouragement. Certainly, however,
one may be sure that God has smiled upon His children's efforts in
the lower east coast of Florida.

Endnotes

1. Mrs. Julia D. Tuttle, of Cleveland, Ohio, moved to Miami with
all her family and effects, at the beginning of the decade, to develop a
large property which included all of the original site of Miami north of the
Miami River and a great deal of property then a wilderness.
2. Identified as Fulford.
3. Journal ofSecondAnnual Convocation. Missionary Jurisdiction
of Southern Florida. 1894, pp. 46-47, 64-65
4. Kirk Munroe, a writer and early resident of the Miami area.
5. Flora McFarlane, winter resident of Coconut Grove; taught
school because she realized the local needs; founder of the Housekeepers'
Club.
6. Garry Niles, a naval officer residing at Lemon City.
7. About where Musa Isle, near NW 27th Avenue once stood.
8. Journal of Third Annual Convocation. 1895, pp. 23-24.
9. Journal of Fourth Annual Convocation, 1896, pp. 57-58.
10. Memoirs and History of Miami, p. 6.
t1. Ibid., pp. 10-11
12. Journal of Fifth Annual Convocation. 1897, pp. 59-60..
13. John Sewell: Memoirs and History of Miami, pp. 112-115.
14. William Mark Brown, a graduate of Amherst, 1885; moved to
Florida in early manhood; cashier of the Indian River State Bank at
Titusville; opened Bank of Bay Biscayne, Miami, May 2, 1896.
15. Henry Kegwin, Presbyterian minister in Miami and Coconut
Grove; highly respected.
16. C. Milburn, an elderly Englishman; carpenter by occupation.
17. Journal of Fifth Annual Convocation, 1897, pp. 10, 31, 54,
66,82.
18. Journal of Sixth Annual Convocation, 1898, p. 28.
19. The Holy Cross Magazine, Nov., 1897, p. 29.
20. Journal of the General Convention. Protestant Episcopal

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